


Username Frost

by kazwrites



Series: Username Frost [1]
Category: Username Frost
Genre: Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Butlers, Choices, Communication, Computers, Deception, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Heterosexual Character, Heterosexual Sex, Kidnapping, Long-Distance Friendship, Love, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Male-Female Friendship, Modern Royalty, Original Character(s), POV Female Character, POV First Person, Protectiveness, Romance, Royalty, Secrets, Sneaking Around, Social Networking, Spies & Secret Agents, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-04-07 19:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14088372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazwrites/pseuds/kazwrites
Summary: My name Kyra Winter. I recently became royalty after the previous royal family was assassinated. I don't know why I was chosen but the life I have now is extravagant and adventurous, a complete 180 from my old life. The only thing I miss is my best friend, Scorch, who I communicate with on my computer that I brought into the palace secretly. We're not allowed technology in the palace because of the fear of me getting assassinated. I need someone to talk to though because of the huge change my life is going through. It was fantastic until I was told that I'd have to pick someone to marry. I have four choices. If only I knew of the repercussions I'd experience while trying to choose.





	1. Data Entry One

Loading Backstory Summary…  
I was twenty-two when the Malkin family was assassinated. They were a good family, and no one could’ve foreseen their untimely demise. The Malkin family was the royal family to the country of Ero for many generations. The people of Ero adored them and the country was peaceful. After the family’s death, people began to panic due to the thought of a ruler-less country. Who would take their place? The Court, which was a group of officials who aided the royal family, conducted an emergency meeting to find anyone to become the next ruler. Why they chose me, I may never know.

By the time I was moved into the palace, I had just turned twenty-three yet I wasn’t allowed to leave the palace without an armada of guards around me. That was the most annoying part of living there but besides that, I had a good time. The palace was huge and if I’m being totally honest, I was lost at least a dozen times. At the time, I had only been there a little over a month and everything still put me into a state of awe. The palace was built at the founding of our country but was kept up so nicely that it still looked new. There were a couple modifications made to keep the palace modern, but it was an absolute beauty. The outside was dark grey, boring color but the inside was the polar opposite. The walls and ceilings were white with gold lining and the floors were carpeted in a gorgeous dark red. There were many windows, all of which you could tell by the thickness were bulletproof, and the natural lighting filled the entire place. I mainly wandered about the east wing where the bedrooms and dining areas were as well as the ballroom. The west wing housed The Court, rooms for official meetings, and a training area for the guards. Outside of the east wing was a large garden and north of the palace was a massive forest that spanned for hundreds of miles. Drive twenty minutes south and you’re in the heart of our capital city. I had used to live in an apartment complex there before I was taken to the palace. Talk about a major housing upgrade.

I did forget to mention two other things that suck about living at the palace though. One, no tech was allowed unless it’s approved by The Court and 150% unable to get hacked. The assassins that murdered the Malkin family hacked the computers to figure out exactly where they’d be on that specific day and plotted out the perfect place to attack. We all know how that went down so The Court basically threw out all the tech and started fresh with bare basics. Two, I wasn’t allowed to have my friends visit the palace. I was already rarely allowed to leave and that was only for official business. Everyone was too protective of the new royalty at that moment… But I missed my best friend. He was my only friend, honestly. I called him Scorch. We knew each other since we could crawl and were hardly apart. We lived next to each other in the apartment complex and if I wasn’t in his apartment, he was in mine. We had been inseparable up to the day I moved away. I wondered how he was holding up a lot of the time when I wandered the palace. I was going about it okay because I was busy meeting people and learning things, but Scorch was all alone; constantly reminded of me every time he walked past my apartment. It must’ve been hard on his mental state. Luckily, on one of my ‘official business’ days out of the palace, I was able to convince the guards to allow me to go to my apartment and pick up a few personal affects. A couple outfits, my favorite blanket and pillow, and I, somehow, was able to sneak my laptop out as well. I would’ve visited Scorch while I was there, but he was at work. Probably for the best considering he would’ve tried to kidnap me.

When I returned to the palace, I was left completely alone in my room. Another great thing about this place was that everyone had to knock and receive my verbal permission to enter my room which meant I didn’t have to worry about someone bursting in and seeing me with my laptop. I had eagerly set up a private, completely incognito and untraceable chat room between Scorch and myself.

Username: Kyra Winter  
Password: ********  
Credentials Confirmed  
Welcome Back, Frost

Frost was the nickname he gave me because of a strip of snow white hair that I was born with; hence me dubbing him Scorch to coincide. Sending the first message made my heart race with excitement.

Outgoing Message: hey Scorch. miss me?

I didn’t expect a message back right away. Scorch was at work. I closed my laptop, hid it under the mattress, and went downstairs for dinner. My tutor for all things royal, John, was there with me and I didn’t hear a word he was saying. I was too busy wondering if the chatroom would show up for Scorch or if he’d even be able to reply. I honestly don’t even remember eating. After dinner, John briefly mentioned something that caught my attention.

“You’ll be meeting suitors soon.”

“What? Suitors? I’m not exactly understanding what you’re trying to tell me.”

“There will be bachelors coming to live in the palace to try to win over the hand of the…” He gestured his hand to me, “bachelorette.”

I was silent for a moment while it processed. I scoffed and glared at John once I had thought out how to respond to such a ridiculous thing.  
“I don’t need to be married off. I can do just fine on my own.”

John sighed and rubbed his eyes, mumbling to himself before raising his voice.  
“I knew you’d react like this… Understand this, Miss Kyra, the royal line must continue. It cannot end with you or else we’ll just have to go through this whole thing again with the next girl we chose.”  
I had started to feel my blood boil. How dare they think that I can be handed off to someone like they own me.

“Then you’ll just have to pick a new woman because I won’t be treated like an object.”  
I immediately turned away and walked at a brisk pace away from John. He was basically The Court’s lapdog and while I didn’t care before, I did now. He acted like he had authority over me just then. Idiot.

The thought of marrying someone at my age was frightening. I wanted to be free and do what I wanted; not be tied to another person. Not yet. I wanted to at least date around and have fun with my romantic life. If I was given a handful of men to choose from, that’d be difficult to do. What if I didn’t like any of them either? Then what? Will I be allowed a new ‘batch’ of men? I rubbed my temples to calm myself as I sat on my bed, glancing to my computer screen now and then.

“Please respond, Scorch. I really need to talk to you…”

I whispered in the weakest voice I ever heard from myself. God, this whole marriage thing was deteriorating me fast. Maybe I actually hadn’t been okay with this new royal life. Maybe I was bottling up all my hatred and fear towards this situation and adding marriage to the mix was the straw that broke the camel’s back. My hands covered my face until I heard a quiet ding from my computer. I looked at the screen excitedly to see that Scorch had messaged me back. My spirits immediately lifted.

Incoming Message: Frost! holy shit, how’d you get ahold of me? did they allow you to have a computer? oh my god I’ve missed you so much. are you well? will I be able to see you soon?  
Outgoing Message: I snuck my laptop into the palace. I still don’t know how I got away with it haha. I’m well. I don’t know how soon we’d be able to see each other. they’ve still got me on lockdown.  
Wait. Why did I lie to my best friend about how I was doing? What the hell?

Outgoing Message: actually, I’m not well. I’m the furthest thing from it. I wish I could see you. I really need to talk to you and just be with you. you always had some way of making me feel like everything was okay.  
Incoming Message: can’t you ask someone to let you come see me? or vise versa? whatever’s going on sounds serious  
Outgoing Message: I could leave for the night.

I typed this slowly. I was seriously considering escaping this place to see Scorch. I had to see him. I was falling apart, and I saw it as my hands trembled while I typed again.

Outgoing Message: I can try to escape. we can meet on that abandoned bridge we used to go to as teenagers.  
Incoming Message: I can be there in half an hour.  
Outgoing Message: wait, you know that this could get us both in big trouble, right?  
Incoming Message: of course I know that. I don’t care though. you need me and so I’ll be there. see you soon. Scorch signing off.  
Outgoing Message: okay… Frost signing off.

Log Out?  
Yes? No?  
yes  
Logging Out….  
Logged Out  
System Shutting Down

I’d been lying if I had said I wasn’t scared. I was going to leave the palace and meet up with Scorch. I had no choice. Everything that was happening was too much for me to handle alone. I hid my laptop once again and slipped on my shoes. I couldn’t just walk out the front door but there was possibly a way out in the west wing where no one would see me. I crossed my fingers, hoping that it’d be that easy. The sun was just beginning to set, and people were either eating dinner or getting ready for The Court’s meeting. I had no idea what it was about, but I hadn’t been invited. The meeting was probably about the suitors who were coming to the palace. I’m glad I wasn’t invited. I would’ve ended up just starting an argument. I was able to walk through the hallways unseen and even heard The Court’s soft murmuring from outside the door. I didn’t stop to listen in. My full focus was on getting out without being seen. There was a staircase at the end of the hallway which I believed led outside. I checked around to make sure there weren’t any cameras or alarm systems that would go off if I opened the door. Luckily, there weren’t. I guess the rumor about the west wing being less watched was true. I quickly went down the staircase to find the door. My heart was racing as I opened the door and I then felt a sudden burst of cold wind. I laughed excitedly and walked through the door without hesitation. It took me about twenty-five very cold minutes to reach the bridge. I didn’t see Scorch yet and my heart dropped. What if he didn’t come? Or… What if he got caught trying to come here? My world started to spin, and tears welled up in my eyes as I looked around frantically. I jumped when I felt someone grab my arm and almost fell over when I turned around. Scorch held me tight though.

“Scorch…”

I whimpered, immediately hiding my face against his chest and hugging him desperately. His arms wrapped around me gently and I was able to relax just a bit. He ran his fingers through my hair as he spoke worriedly.

“Ky, what’s going on? I thought you said you were doing okay at the palace. What happened?”

“I—They’re making me—”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence before completely breaking down into a sob. I gripped the fabric of his jacket so tight that it felt like it was going to rip at the seams. My entire body trembled from the anxiety attack I was now having and Scorch did his best to calm me down. He took me to his car that he parked near an isolated area, so it wouldn’t be obvious that we were there. He turned up the heat and kept me close to him as I started to cry a bit less and relax. After a couple minutes, Scorch pushed my hair out of my face.

“Okay, now, try to tell me again what happened.”

His voice was very soft and consoling to me. I kept my eyes down at my hands in my lap and sniffled, doing my best to get out what I had been trying to say. 

“They’re making me c-choose someone to marry…”

I felt Scorch’s demeanor immediately change. His shoulders tensed up and his face showed that he was in a state of shock. 

“What?” He laughed nervously. “No. They can’t do that. That’s a violation of basic human rights! You’re the princess, can’t you just say no?”

“I already tried. They want a new royal lineage.”

“Just adopt a kid! You don’t have to marry someone to have children.”

I didn’t know what to say anymore. I know Scorch was trying to help but I just cried more. He grabbed my hand with a gentle sigh and calmed himself. 

“I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to think about this too much. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better for the time being?”

“I just want to stay here for a while. I don’t want to go back to the palace right now.”

I stayed with Scorch for a couple hours. At one point we got into the back of the car and I fell asleep in his arms. When I woke up, we walked back to the bridge slowly. Neither of us wanted to part ways.

“When will I be able to see you again?”

I shrugged when Scorch asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not for a while. I don’t want anyone to get suspicious. But I’ll talk to you every night on the computer, okay?”

Scorch looked down and then nodded. He hugged me tightly.

“Okay. I’m going to hold you to that.”

We both smiled, and a sudden wind hit us both. I shivered quickly and hummed.

“I should be getting back now.”

“I wish you didn’t have to.”

“I know, neither do I.”

I sighed and then Scorch took off his sweatshirt, handing it to me.

“Here. You’ll need it for the walk back. I don’t want you freezing out there. After all, you’re the future of this country.”

He smiled again, and we hugged once more before saying our goodbyes. I put on his sweatshirt which instantly warmed me up and made the trip back to the palace more tolerable. Luck obviously was on my side that night as I was able to make it all the way back into my room without being noticed. For people that were so keen on keeping me here, they were pretty bad at making sure I stayed. I changed into pajamas, keeping Scorch’s sweatshirt on, and then got into bed. I turned on my computer and messaged him goodnight before my exhaustion got the best of me and I fell asleep. The night was peaceful, and I had good dreams that allowed me to wake up in a good mood despite the suitor situation. There was a knock on my door; my morning ‘alarm clock’. I slipped out of bed and opened the door with a yawn.

“Mornin’.”

“Good morning, m’lady. How did you sleep?”

This was a voice I didn’t recognize. When I looked in front of myself, I saw a short, old man standing there instead of the regular woman who normally woke me up.

“I slept well… Where’s Jessie?”

“Ah, I’m afraid her father has fallen seriously ill. She has taken some time off to care for him, so I will be assisting you from here on out. My name is Sebastian.”

“That’s too bad. Nice to meet you though, Sebastian.”

The grey-haired man then cleared his throat and smiled sweetly.

“I was told to wake you for breakfast. John has some things he’d like to talk with you about this morning. He’s already waiting downstairs for you. Is there anything I can help with in the meantime?”

I sighed, knowing John would talk about my suitors, and then shook my head.

“No, I’m okay. Thank you, Sebastian.”

With that, he bowed and left. I closed my door and got dressed though it was very difficult for me to leave Scorch’s sweatshirt behind. I took my time walking downstairs, knowing that the longer John waited the more irritated he get. I went into the dining room with a smug smile and sat down without saying word to John.

“Good morning.”

He said flatly. I could tell he was trying his best to not glare at me.

“Mhm.”

I hummed back, a servant then putting a plate of pancakes in front of me. I’d only been there a month and yet the cooks knew exactly what I liked. John took in a deep breath and began his morning talk.  
“The Court said that you’re doing well on learning everything I’ve taught you and you should be able to begin running things your way soon. You won’t have to meet with them as often or use me for counseling.”

“So, does that mean you’ll be going away soon?”

That earned a glare from John. I then laughed.

“Geez lighten up. I was kidding. That sounds good though. I’m happy about that. What else?”

“The Court has set a date on when you’ll be meeting the suitors.”

A dark silence fell over the room after John said that. I looked up at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I’m not meeting them. I’ll have nothing to do with suitors.”

John had obviously woken up on the wrong side of the bed that day.

“You will meet them, and you will choose one of them.” He snapped at me immediately after I retaliated. “Accept that this is happening and stop making this so difficult. You can have as much time as you need but you must pick a suitor eventually.”

I felt shattered at John’s words. I felt like there was no escape for me and the good mood Scorch had left me in was far away. I picked up my plate and walked out of the dining hall. I went deep into the large palace garden and sat on the soft grass with a heavy sigh. I still ate, obviously, I was hungry and upset and pancakes helped both those dilemmas. After finishing my food, I set the empty plate to the side and breathed in deeply with closed eyes. A gentle breeze blew all around my body. It was relaxing for the most part. I leaned back until I was laying on the ground, doing my best to clear my mind and go to my comfort zone. It was a time with Scorch that I always reflected to. It was right before I was planning on moving across the ocean to Derlu to start fresh with my parents. Both had just finished working and they wanted to explore places they’d never been. I had agreed to go with them even though it’d be difficult to leave Scorch. We were sitting on the rooftop area of his apartment complex, drinking beers and talking about our favorite memories. Time seemed to move slow when we were talking that night.

“You’ll still visit me, right?”

“No, definitely not. I’d never come back to see my best friend.”  
I said sarcastically which earned a shoulder nudge from Scorch.

“C’mon, I’m serious. I want to know if I’ll ever see you again.”

“Well of course you will. Eventually we’ll have to settle down. My family can’t travel their whole lives. And who knows, maybe you’ll be the one visiting.”

Scorch scoffed and looked down at the beer in his hand with his soft amber eyes.  
“Yeah, like I’ll ever get the money to travel. I’m in a comfortable financial position here but I know if I tried to go somewhere else, I’d be broke.”

“Well don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure to visit you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Scorch smiled, and we tapped our bottles together before each taking another sip. I loved that memory because the future was clear to me and I was excited for it. I was looking forward to living life on my own terms and seeing places I had never seen before. Unfortunately, my fate was not to be like so. My mother was attacked by a gang after she withdrew money to prep for the trip. They stole all the money and left her bleeding out in a gutter. The hospital was able to keep her alive for two more days before they had to pronounce her dead. No less than forty-eight hours later, my father died as well. Broken heart. I ended up selling my parents’ house and inherited the rest of their money. With that I was able to buy the apartment next to Scorch’s though, for the first few months, I stayed in his apartment because I didn’t want to be alone. I suppose that could’ve been a good reason The Court chose me. Because I didn’t have any family left. I opened my eyes to watch the tree branches softly swaying in the wind. So much for going to my happy place because I was right back to thinking about the suitors. I stood up, grabbed my plate, and went back into the palace. Not even thirty seconds after I had walked in, a maid took my plate and returned it to the kitchen. I began mindlessly wandering the halls of the palace once again. This activity had seemed to be quickly becoming my norm. When I passed a hallway, a figure began following me. When I stopped to look, Sebastian was a few paces behind me.

“M’lady! Oh, I’m so glad I found you. John said he was looking for you.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“No, I’m afraid not. But he did say that he would like to see you in his office as soon as possible.”

I nodded and sighed quietly.  
“Okay. Thank you, Sebastian. I’ll go see him now.”

When I was about to walk away, the short butler touched my arm and spoke.  
“You seem… upset. If you don’t mind me nosing around, may I ask what’s wrong?”

I was off-put by Sebastian’s question. He was honestly the first person to ask me that question ever since I arrived here. At first, I didn’t know how to respond but I needed someone in the palace to talk to and Sebastian seemed trustworthy. I took in a deep breath to make sure I didn’t break down into a sob again.

“I don’t want to choose a suitor.”

My voice was very quiet to avoid it being heard by gossipers. Sebastian’s eyebrows pinched together, and he nodded.

“Oh. That is what’s bothering you. Understandable but, excuse me if I’m overstepping, how can you say you don’t want to choose one if you have not even met them yet?”

“You’re not overstepping, don’t worry. You make a good point but what if I don’t click with any of them after I do meet them? What then? I’ll just have to settle for whoever was most tolerable? I won’t do that, Sebastian. I can’t do that.”

Sebastian glanced around and then lightly pat my arm.  
“Go talk to John. He may be able to straighten out your questions better than I can.”

Everything in my body and mind said no to seeing John but Sebastian was right. He’d have answers to my questions and it might make me feel more relaxed about the whole situation. I agreed with a nod and took a step towards John’s office.

“Oh, and if you ever need anyone to talk to, m’lady, I am always of service to you. I know you haven’t made a connection with anyone here yet, so I hope to change that.”

I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when Sebastian said that. He was just a simple butler, yet he made the effort to reach out to me. I thanked him and then we parted ways.  
John had apologized profusely when I saw him. I couldn’t escape from the wave of apologies and I swear it made our talk at least twenty minutes longer than needed. I did get answers to all my questions about the suitors though. They’d be arriving at the palace in two days and there’d be four of them. If I didn’t like any of the ones that come in two days, then The Court would pick a new group of men and it’d be the same process until I found one to marry. The picking of a suitor would be left entirely to me and no one would interfere. Since I was so young at the time, The Court allowed me a ten-year window in which to pick my husband which I thought was quite reasonable. I suppose I had made it out to be worse than it really was. Obviously, I’d find at least one person I liked during that time, right? I walked out of John’s office much happier than I did when I walked in. I had to tell Scorch about this tonight. He was probably already dying to talk again. Since it was only about noon though, I had a lot of time to kill before I could talk to him. I decided to go out to the stables where a couple horses were housed. It used to be a requirement for royals to learn how to ride but nowadays it was just a hobby. I started riding the moment I arrived at the palace. I was bored, and it was also a way for me to relax and have alone time. I had clicked immediately with one of the horses there. He had apparently been the Malkin’s son’s horse. His name was Rem and he was a young but well-trained horse. He whinnied when I walked into the stables and that brought a smile to my face.

“Hey big boy. How are ya?”

I asked softly, petting his nose and neck. He headbutted me a couple times to be playful and then started to pace around his stall when I picked up his saddle and bridle. He acted like a dog who was about to go for a walk. I saddled him up and then once we were outside I mounted him, and he took off galloping over our normal trail. Just to my luck though, Rem tried to jump over a fallen log and I took a hard tumble off him considering I had never jumped with him. Instead of stopping, Rem kept galloping away and left me to my own accords. I stood up with a groan and winced, feeling a surging pain run down my arm. I had a huge gash down the top of my arm and blood began running down. I sighed, knowing people were going to freak out when I returned. I walked all the way back to the stables where I found Rem standing there.

“Asshole horse…”  
I said to him with a huff. Someone then looked under Rem’s neck and I noticed they were holding onto his reins.

“M’lady?”

I slightly rolled my eyes at the voice, knowing the panic was about to begin. The man turned himself and Rem, so he could see me, and his eyes widened a bit. Shockingly, he didn’t panic too much about my injury.

“Are you okay? Did Rem throw you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It just hurts a bit.” I then glared at the horse and laughed a bit. “He jumped over a fallen tree when I wasn’t ready for it. And instead of coming back for me, he deserted me.”

By looking at the man, I could tell he was one of the guards that protected the palace. I didn’t get a great look at him though because I kept my eyes down in embarrassment. He then spoke up again and began walking Rem back to the stables.

“Well you should go inside and get taken care of. I’ll handle this troublemaker.”

I nodded and walked back to the palace, getting slightly lightheaded. The entire place was in a panic for about an hour until everything calmed down. The doctor had stitched me up and John plus a few servants were there, including Sebastian.

“She’ll be fine.” The doctor said to John. “Her bandages need to be changed twice a day for a week and then once a day after that. I’ll take out the stitches in about a month if it heals right.” He then turned to me. “As for you, I wouldn’t suggest horseback riding for a while. Even with a calm horse because you could get thrown again.”

I sighed and agreed to his terms. With that, the doctor left, and John kneeled next to couch I was on.

“Is there anything I can do for you? How’s the pain? Are you hungry at all?”

I shook my head and closed my eyes, mumbling my answer.  
“No, I’m okay. The doctor gave me some pain medicine so I’m getting kind of tired…”

“Do you want to go up to your room?”

The pain pills I was given worked so fast and made me so tired so quick that I was out like a light before I could even respond to John.

 

Data Entry One  
End


	2. Data Entry Two

I was still on the couch and Sebastian was sitting in a chair in front of me reading a book when I came back into consciousness. When he saw me stir, he immediately set his book down and scoot closer.  
“M’lady, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

My voice was groggy when I spoke, a yawn coming out in the middle of my sentence.  
“I’m kind of sore… and hungry.”

Sebastian glanced back at the clock on the wall and hummed.  
“It’s five o’clock right now. I could have the cooks begin dinner early for you, if you’d like?”

I sat up slowly when I heard what time it was. I had been asleep for a long while. I then hummed and rubbed my eyes.  
“Um, yeah. That sounds fine. Thank you.”

The butler then disappeared, and John entered the room with a small smile.

“Hello, Ms. Kyra. Did you sleep well?” He asked as he took a seat in the chair Sebastian had been in. “You gave us all a big scare today. I’m glad you’re alright.”

“It was just a tumble, John. I happened to scratch my arm, I wasn’t going to die from it.”  
I laughed lightly and rubbed my head with my hand.

“I know, but either way, it’s scary for us all when you get hurt.” He then cleared his throat and his voice became a bit softer. “I know you may not want to think about this right this moment but, I wondering if you’d be okay with the suitors arriving in two days? If you don’t feel well enough then we can postpone.”

“No, I’ll be fine with them being here in two days. I should be a lot better by then. If not, then I’ll get a firsthand taste at how good of caregivers they are.”

I smiled at John and he smiled back with a slight bow of the head.

“Alright then. You’re quite the trooper, m’lady.”

Over the next two days, I was in constant care of either John or a servant. When I told Scorch about what happened, I had to talk him out of sneaking into the palace to take care of me. I promised him I’d see him soon though. Luckily, my condition improved greatly and I only experienced pain when I moved my arm a certain way. Other than that, I rarely noticed it.  
The day had finally come. The suitors were to be here soon, and I couldn’t help but feel anxious. I was wearing a slim, long, maroon dress with my hair up in a braided bun with curled strands over hair next to my cheeks. I paced in my room, my mind racing with questions. Will they be kind? Will they be good looking? Oh god, please let them at least be good looking. John was downstairs prepping one of the meeting rooms to be a casual area for all the suitors and myself to meet and talk. He’d escort all of them there first and then come get me. Every time I heard footsteps coming near my room, my heart began to beat out of my chest. I jumped when there was finally a knock at my door. I rushed to answer it and breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw it was only Sebastian.

“Sebastian, thank goodness it’s you. Can we talk?” I had pulled him into my room and shut the door before he could even answer. “I’m so nervous and I don’t even know why. A week ago, I was resentful towards this whole thing but now I actually want to make a good impression.”

I sat on the edge of my bed and Sebastian put his hand on my shoulder, speaking calmly.

“Don’t be nervous, m’lady. These men adore you already. If not as their future wife, then at least as their ruler. You’ve already made a good impression on them so just take a deep breath and don’t overthink it.”

I took in that deep breath Sebastian told me too and sat up straight.  
“You’re right, Sebastian. I guess all of the worry is getting to my head.” I looked at him. “Have you seen any of them? Do they seem like a good group of guys?”

“I haven’t seen the two that are supposed to arrive today but, did John not tell you that the other two live in this palace already?”

“What? No, he didn’t. Who are they?”

“One of them is the captain of the guard and the other one…” Sebastian glanced away and then looked into my eyes again, “is John.”

I was absolutely stunned by this news. I would’ve never guessed that John would be one of my suitors… I wondered why he didn’t tell me sooner. My eyes met with the ground and I shook my head slowly.  
“John… One of my suitors? I never even thought about him in a romantic way. I wanted to keep it professional since he was my tutor. It’s going to be difficult to see him as anything but my tutor.”

Sebastian hummed and folded his hands in his lap.  
“Well you don’t know what will happen. Plus, if John doesn’t work out, there’s three more men to choose from.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I smiled at the butler. “Thank you, Sebastian. I really appreciate you allowing me to talk to you about this.”

I stood up and hugged him tightly. That hug was so comforting and exactly what I needed to continue. A moment later, there was a knock at my door. Sebastian and I looked at each other and then he nodded with a smile. I answered the door to see John standing there.

“Everyone is ready downstairs, m’lady.”

“Alright. Let’s go then.”  
I smiled and was stopped by Sebastian’s voice before I took a step.

“Ah, you forgot to put shoes on.”

He said, setting my heels next to my feet. I laughed lightly and slipped them on.

“Thank you, Sebastian.” I turned to John and sighed contently. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

John and I walked side by side and mostly in silence until we reached the bottom of the stairs. I spoke hesitantly but wanted to ask before we were in the presence of others.

“Why did you not tell me that you were one of my suitors?”

John stopped walking which caused me to stop walking as well. He looked down at the ground and shook his head, still smiling though.  
“Sebastian…” He mumbled. He then looked up to me. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to feel unnecessarily awkward during our tutoring time. I thought that waiting until the last minute would be the most appropriate timing.”

I hummed and nodded, continuing to walk.  
“Oh. Well, that’s understandable.”

John brought me to the meeting room and opened the door. I saw three men standing in front of me and I felt a strong energy from the room.  
“Ms. Kyra, meet your suitors.”

Nathan Bruder - Age: 23, Occupation: Personal Assistant to Leader of Derlu, Physical Attributes: dirty blonde hair, green eyes, 5’9, small body build, small silver stud piercing in left ear  
John Mason- Age: 27, Occupation: Royal Tutor, Physical Attributes: dark, natural-red hair, brown eyes, 6’2, average body build, requires glasses to read  
Damien Hunt – Age: 26, Occupation: none, lives off parents’ wealth, Physical Attributes: bleach blonde hair, blue eyes, lightly freckled, 6’, thin and tall build  
Glen Aiken – Age: 24, Occupation: Captain of the Guard, Physical Attributes: dark brunette hair, amber eyes, 5’11, strong build

I glanced around the room to these men I was meeting. They were all quite attractive, even John was, now that I considered it. I stepped into the room with a smile and waved to them.  
“Hello, I’m Kyra Winter. Nice to meet you all.”

Damien was the first to come up to me. I got a very confident vibe from him as he took my hand and kissed it.   
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Kyra. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

I smiled and glanced at John quickly, unfamiliar with being treated like this. I looked at Damien and laughed politely.  
“I’m looking forward to knowing you as well, Damien.”

After Damien was Nathan. He had this innocent, slightly nervous personality but I thought it was cute and fitting.   
“Hello, Miss Kyra. It’s a pleasure to meet you finally. I’ve come a long way to be here.”

“Where are you from?”  
I asked curiously, folding my hands in front of my body. 

“I’m from Derlu; across the ocean.”

“Derlu…? I was going to move there a year or so ago. Never got around to it though…”

My mind trailed off a bit when I thought again of my parents’ dream to go there. Nathan then pulled me back to reality when he spoke again.

“Maybe one day you can visit there with me. It’s quite beautiful.”

John laughed and stepped forward.  
“Alright Nathan, stop trying to show the rest of us up. Glen, will you stop being avoidant and say hi?”

I glanced to the side to see Glen step out from behind Damien and walk towards me. He slightly bowed his head to me and spoke gently even though he was a tough soldier.

“Good morning, Kyra. How is your arm doing?”

It wasn’t until he asked me that that I realized he was the one who caught Rem and was the one who told me to go inside.

“Oh, Glen, I remember you. I appreciate you taking care of Rem after that. And it’s doing better, thank you.”

He simply bowed his head again and gave me a small smile in response. Damien then came forward and took both my hands.

“Kyra, I would really love to be able to be the first to spend the day with you. I want to get a head start on wooing you.”

I laughed quietly and John huffed, putting his hand on Damien’s shoulder. Talk about someone being jealous.

“There’s already a set schedule, Damien. You are after Nathan and myself. Today she’s only meeting all of you. Tomorrow is when she’ll be spending time with each of you personally.”

Damien crossed his arms over his chest and almost sounded like a child when he spoke.  
“What? I’m third in line? No fair! You should be the last to go, John, since you’ve already spent a lot of time with her as her tutor.”

John rolled his eyes.  
“Stop being so immature, Damien. It’s not a very attractive quality.”

John smirked when he said that last part and Damien’s jaw dropped in shock. I couldn’t help but giggle at their bantering. The blonde male then looked to me and uncrossed his arms, straightening his body to act more like his age. I heard Glen scoff and then speak up.

“John, I have to go back to the rest of the guards. We have those new training regiments to learn.”

My tutor took Glen to the side and I heard him say something along the lines of ‘I thought you had cleared this day out.’ As Glen and John talked, I was able to get a good look at Glen. He looked very familiar, but I just couldn’t pinpoint it. Right when I was about to figure it out, Damien spoke to me.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Glen said something happened to your arm?”

“Hm?” I was wearing long sleeves, so my arm was hidden. John thought it’d be best the suitors didn’t see that, but I didn’t mind honestly. “Oh, I was thrown off my horse and something ripped a huge gash in my arm. I’m okay though. It just took a couple stitches and some pain pills.”

Nathan and Damien had wide eyes when I told them what happened. Nathan had his hand slightly over his mouth from the shock.

“Oh my goodness… How were you even able to get back on your horse with such a serious injury?”

I rubbed my arm gently and glanced away.  
“I didn’t. He bolted after I fell so I had to walk back. Glen actually was the one who saw me wandering and told me to get back to the palace.”

Both men put their hand on my shoulder with a gasp and worriedly comforted me, saying things like; ‘You poor girl!’ and ‘How did you handle that?’. It was quite a strange occurrence but luckily for me John’s voice made them break away from me.

“Glen has to leave now, m’lady.”

The soldier walked up to me, took my hand, and pressed a gentle kiss against it.  
“My sincerest apology for cutting our meeting short but I must get back to training my men. After all, we need to be able to protect you. I’ll be seeing you again soon though. Kyra.”

He smiled and all at once it hit me. I knew why Glen looked familiar and it absolutely stunned me. He reminded me of Scorch.

After I finished meeting with the suitors, I immediately retreated to my room. My hands were shaking and I had to cover my mouth to keep my deep breathing silent. Glen looked so much like Scorch… They had the same eyes and smile. I couldn’t handle it. I desperately missed Scorch and having someone that looked so similar to him, especially being my suitor, was extremely difficult to deal with. I prayed that Glen and Scorch would have different enough personalities that I could see passed the looks. I stayed in my room trying to relax until dinnertime came around. Sebastian knocked on my door and I felt such relief to see him.

“Good evening, Miss Kyra. How was meeting the suitors?”

“It wasn’t too bad, if I’m being honest.” 

I stepped out of my room and began slowly walking with the butler. I explained to him my dilemma with Glen and he told me to just try to give him a chance, as well as the rest of the suitors.  
“You truly are my voice of reason, Sebastian. Thank you.”

I leaned down to hug the old man and gave a relaxed sigh. He patted my back and smiled up to me.

“It’s my job to serve you, but it’s my pleasure to help you.”

I had honestly never heard such a butler-y thing to say and it was absolutely adorable. This butler had stolen my heart in the span of four days. I only hoped for that to be so with one of the suitors. It’d be a miracle. I thanked Sebastian once more and then opened the door to the dining room, expecting to see only John but all the suitors were there. I froze up in the doorway, perplexed and surprised.

“Oh, Kyra! I’m so sorry, I forgot to tell you that the others would be joining us.”

John said quickly. Way to wait until the very last second… I smiled softly and stepped inside more, then taking a seat at my usual chair.

“That’s okay. It’s a nice surprise.”

John was to my right, Glen to his side, and Damien was to my left, Nathan to the side of him. I rested my gaze on Glen, speaking the calmest I could.

“Glen, I thought you had training?”

“We have to eat eventually, m’lady.”

I nodded and hummed, avoiding Glen’s eyes when he looked up to me. I had quickly turned my head to meet my gaze with Damien’s.  
“So, I know where everyone comes from except you. Mind indulging me?”

Damien smiled and sighed dreamily, resting his hand upon mine.  
“Oh, I come from the most beautiful area in the northern region of Ero. My family owns a huge mansion on the outer rim of a forest. There’s a lake nearby as well; just a short five-minute walk. It’s absolutely breathing taking, Kyra. I hope to be able to show you one of these days.”

“That sounds wonderful. Looks like I’ll be going on trips to see many gorgeous places with you two.”

I gestured to Damien and Nathan with a smile. John laughed lightly and I heard a bit of jealously laced into it.

“Yes, well, that’s only if The Court allows you to so don’t go getting your hopes up.”

“I’m pretty confident that The Court would be fine with her traveling if I accompanied her. After all, they did say I was the best guard they had.”

Glen chimed in, which made me smile though I didn’t look at him.

“I’m so looking forward to traveling! I’ve never been outside of this city.”

All four of the men in the room with me gave me weird, disbelieving looks. Damien then squeezed my hand and looked at John.

“See! All the more reason to let her come on trips with Nathan and myself. You can’t coop up such a beautiful spirit in this palace for the rest of her life.”

Damien was such a confident, flirty guy. It was quite attractive and I, surprisingly, liked how touchy he was. Normally I hated being touched by strangers but I couldn’t deny someone like him. I smiled at Damien and he smiled right back, earning another small fit of jealously, or envy, from John.

“Alright, Damien, how about backing off on the excessive flirting?”

I looked over to John and grabbed his hand. He relaxed and smiled slightly at the touch, turning his hand over so he could hold my hand.

“Oh, lighten up, John. He’s only doing what he’s supposed to as a suitor.”

It had seemed like John was going to retaliate to what I said but he was silenced when dinner was served to all of us. I pulled my hands away and began to eat. Everyone took part in casual conversation and I found it to be quite a nice night. From time to time I did find myself staring at Glen even though I tried my hardest not to. He looked a lot like Scorch but acted more mature and withdrawn. I supposed he had to be that way considering the line of work he was in.

After dinner each of the suitors said their goodnights to me and left except for John; he stayed behind.

“Would you like me to walk with you to your room?”

I was going to say yes to his offer but I caught a glimpse of Sebastian and wanted to talk with him.

“Actually, I’m going to go for a walk with Sebastian if you don’t mind. Thank you for tonight though. I had a very enjoyable night. See you in the morning?”

I began slowly backing away when I spoke so I’d be able to catch up with Sebastian. John looked a bit disappointed but quickly hid it with another smile.

“Of course. Goodnight, Kyra.”

I smiled in response and then turned around and went after my favorite butler. I accidentally startled him when I put my hand on his shoulder. He jolted so hard I thought he was going to jump right out of his skin.

“Oh! Sebastian, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. You are okay?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” He laughed lightly as he held his hand over his chest. “Your footsteps are so quiet!”

“I guess I’ll just have to start wearing a bell.”

That got a laugh out of both of us and then I sighed contently, grabbing Sebastian’s hands.

“Sebastian, the suitors, they’re great! They’re all so kind and two of them want to take me places I’ve never been! I’ll finally get to travel!”

I said excitedly, making Sebastian’s eye light up.

“I’m so glad you like your suitors. I know you were worried and a bit resistant to the whole idea.”

“I know, I know. But I gave them a chance just like you told me to and today was probably one of the best days I’ve had here!”

I was so ecstatic and daydream-y that Sebastian had to bring me back to the real world before asking his question.

“Is there a particular suitor that you like more than the others?”

I hummed and bit my lip, glancing at the floor before back to Sebastian’s eyes.  
“Damien is really nice… And funny when he’s all flirty. Although, I’m really drawn to Glen. He reminds me of my best friend and even though I’m trying to ignore it, I feel like I want to be around him more than everyone else…”

I found it quite difficult to admit that. Not that it was hard to tell Sebastian, but it was hard to bring myself to believe. I liked Glen even though we hadn’t talked a lot or, at the very least, made much eye contact. Damn him for being a reminder of someone so important to me. If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have developed that sudden interest in Glen.

“Really? The Captain of the Guard?” Sebastian smiled, nudging my arm lightly to be a tease. “Admit it, you just like a strong looking man.”

A pale blush spread across my cheeks and I shook my head.  
“Oh hush, you’re embarrassing me. And while that is a perk, I really do want to know him as a person. He seems like my type.”

I said that last part a little quieter, thinking about the gossipers who could be listening in. When I looked at Sebastian I could tell that he couldn’t hold back his smile.

“I’m so thrilled that this worked out for you and that you have a good group of suitors. I wish you only the best, m’lady.” The elderly man kissed the top of my hand ever so gently and then bowed his head. “If you don’t mind, I’m rather tired and would like to retire for the night, Unless, there is something else you need to talk about?”

I quickly shook my head and kissed his forehead.  
“No, thank you, Sebastian. You really have been such a help. Please, have a great night’s sleep.”

He said goodnight to me once more and then walked down the hallway. I hummed happily and kicked off my shoes, picking them up before slowly walking towards my bedroom. I showered and then changed into pajamas before messaging Scorch about my day.

Username: Kyra Winter  
Password: ********  
Credentials Confirmed  
Welcome Back, Frost

 

Outgoing Message: hey. I met the suitors today. they’re surprisingly not horrible. I think I had just overreacted about meeting them.  
Incoming Message: I suppose that’s good. you’re not planning on marrying any of them though, right?  
Outgoing Message: I literally just met them today, how would I already know the answer to that? I’m at least going to let them spoil me a bit. one of them came from Derlu and wants me to visit there with him.  
Incoming Message: visit being the keyword here. you better come back.  
Outgoing Message: I kind of have to considering I rule this country.  
Incoming Message: right, right. good.  
Incoming Message: will I be seeing you soon?  
Outgoing Message: I don’t know, Scorch. with these suitors being around, it’ll be difficult to even get alone time. I’ll see if I can get The Court to allow me a ‘fieldtrip’ out. I mean, they have to lighten up on my lockdown one of these days.  
Incoming Message: yeah, hopefully. I really miss you.  
Incoming Message: plus I want my sweatshirt back.  
Outgoing Message: oh you’re a fool if you think you’re ever getting it back.  
Incoming Message: and so the sweatshirt thief strikes again.  
Outgoing Message: you gave it to me!  
Incoming Message: alright, alright fine. I suppose it’s only fair since you’re trapped in that palace.  
Outgoing Message: thank you!  
Outgoing Message: I’m going to try to sleep now, okay? I think I’ll be having a long day tomorrow. you probably need sleep too since you’ve been working a lot. goodnight, Scorch. talk to you tomorrow.  
Incoming Message: talk to you tomorrow. sleep well, Frosty.

Log Out?  
Yes? No?  
yes  
Logging Out…  
Logged Out  
System Shutting Down

 

Data Entry Two  
End


	3. Data Entry Three

The next morning came way quicker than I would’ve wished it to. I yawned as I slipped out of bed and looked through my closet for something comfortable to wear for breakfast. John was munching on an apple and looking through some paperwork, per usual, when I walked in. He looked to me and smiled lightly.  
“You’re looking nice this morning.”  
“And I don’t every other morning?”  
I asked with a straight face when I sat down. John’s face flushed and then he stumbled over his words when he tried to save himself.  
“No! I mean—Yes! You look great every morning, I just thought I’d say it out loud.”  
His face was dark red and I laughed, running my fingers through my hair quickly as I sat back in my chair.  
“John, I was just screwing with you. Relax.” I smiled and rested my head on the palm of my hand. “So, what’s the plan for today?”  
It took him a moment to compose himself but he eventually was looking at the right paper to answer my question.  
“Ah. You’ll be spending some time with Nathan, today. He’s the one from Derlu. I bet that’ll be a good conversational topic.” He then looked at me and continued with a slightly serious voice. “No planning trips to Derlu with him though, okay? That’s something you have to talk to The Court about first.”  
“Buzzkill.” I sighed. “But fine. No Derlu… Yet.”  
I smirked to top it off and John rolled his eyes. He set his papers to the side and focused his entire mind on me; something he hadn’t done before. He smiled softly and leaned forward a bit.  
“I’m truly looking forward to getting to you know more as a person rather than just someone I’m mentoring.”  
“Agreed. I bet you’re much different than how you have been.”  
John shrugged with a hum.  
“I don’t much about much different, but maybe a little. Is there anything you want to do tomorrow while you’re with me?”  
“Hm… Would we be allowed to take the horses to ride somewhere besides the garden?”  
John smiled and looked down at the table.  
“I’m not sure but I’ll ask The Court for permission today. That sounds like a fun time. Do you want to bring a picnic as well?”  
“That sounds wonderful!” I answered excitedly. “I really hope we can go outside of the palace grounds. I honestly haven’t been to many areas outside of here and the city.”  
“I’ll definitely get The Court’s approval then. Even if I have to fight them a bit on it.”  
John said with determination. I could tell he was trying quite hard to be a good suitor for me. It was sweet but I still found it difficult to see him as anything but my tutor. I wouldn’t tell him that though, seeing as he was a very jealous person when it came to me. We had a nice breakfast together with casual conversation. I then excused myself to go get ready to meet with Nathan. I changed to into a casual-nice outfit and left my hair down. I was looking forward to meeting Nathan. Out of all the suitors, he was the one I had spoken to the least. Plus, I really wanted to know about Derlu. I even more so wished technology was allowed here so he could show me pictures. I stepped out of my room and checked over myself quickly to make sure everything looked fine before I started making my way towards where I was going to meet Nathan. I jolted a bit when I heard a deep voice call out my name from behind me. I turned to see Glen and then I relaxed.  
“Oh, Glen, you startled me. Normally no one is around here.”  
I smiled to him but something seemed… off. He was avoiding eye contact with me and had this dark cloud over him. He then stepped forward and the next thing I knew, I had been swiftly pinned against the wall between his arms. He was uncomfortably close and I tried to shove him away but it was like I was pushing a brick wall.  
“What are you doing?” I asked angrily. “Get away from me!”  
My anger was masking the feelings of betrayal and hurt I felt from Glen’s actions. I had seen him as a mirror of Scorch but obviously I was wrong. He was just a cold, perverted suitor. His eyes were emotionless when he looked at me and finally spoke up.  
“Are you going to choose me?”  
His words infuriated me. How cocky does this guy have to be to think that after one day I’d pick him? And especially when he’s acting like this! I gave him my harshest glare even though I felt like I was on the brink of tears.  
“Why in the hell would I pick you?”  
“You were staring at me all during dinner last night. Every time we met eyes, you looked away. I’ve heard that’s one of the first signs of liking someone.”  
“You remind me of a friend. That’s all. I don’t like you in the slightest and even if I did, all those feelings are gone because of what you’re doing to me right now.”  
Glen turned his face away from me after I answered. He stayed silent for a while and then spoke quieter than he had been.  
“Met me at the stables after your time with Nathan is done.” He then leaned close and whispered to me in the gentlest, most desperate voice. “Forgive me, Kyra.”  
The guard then pulled away from me and walked back the way he came at a brisk pace. I was absolutely dumbfounded by what had just happened. Forgive him? I shook my head when the tears I held back finally escaped from my eyes. I slid down the wall and put my head in my hands as I cried quietly. I didn’t want to have anything to do with suitors anymore. I don’t even know why I had let myself give in to the idea of having suitors. I wanted to run away. I wanted to be far away from this cursed place. I wanted to go back to my normal life where I could do whatever I wanted. I wanted to see Scorch more than anything. I stood up and locked myself in my room. I grabbed my computer and sent him a message to see if we could meet tonight. I honestly couldn’t handle another day without him. I hoped that he’d just take me away. Away to Derlu. Somewhere new and fun and where we wouldn’t be found.  
I had finally calmed down after about fifteen minutes and just as I did, there was a frantic knock at my door followed by Sebastian’s voice.  
“M’lady? M’lady, are you okay?”  
I hurriedly hid my computer while I answered.  
“I-I’m fine!”  
My voice, of course, cracked and Sebastian wasn’t going to take just a ‘I’m fine’.  
“May I come in, m’lady?”  
He asked from behind the door still. I knew that if he saw me, he’d know I’d been crying and I’d have to relive the whole Glen thing again. I had already felt tears forming in my eyes just at the thought.  
“N-No…” I pulled myself back up onto my bed and spoke shakily. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”  
Sebastian took a deep breath and started turning the door handle.  
“I know this is against the rules, m’lady, but I’m coming in whether you give me permission or not.”  
I quickly covered my eyes with my hand and I held my breath so he wouldn’t hear my uneven breaths. I heard the door click shut and soft footsteps come over to the side of my bed. I jumped when Sebastian’s hand touched mine gently. He then pulled them off my face and he gasped quietly at the sight of my red eyes.  
“My goodness… What’s wrong? What happened?”  
Sebastian asked with intense worry. I shook my head slowly and my lip quivered before I breathed in sharply. I closed my eyes and had to put my hand over my mouth to quiet my sobs. The butler pulled me into a hug that I reciprocated tightly. For the first couple minutes that he was in there with me, I couldn’t even get out a full word. Eventually I was able to explain what happened and why it so upset me.  
“…then he asked me to forgive him and meet him later.”  
Sebastian looked at the floor and spoke slowly.  
“You should forgive him.”  
I scoffed. That was not what I was expecting to hear.  
“Excuse me, what now?”  
The butler met my eyes and quickly explained what he meant.  
“You should forgive him and go speak with him. Just listen and you’ll understand why. I saw this happen with another princess as well. Certain suitors wish to know who their possible bride favors, so they’ll send one who doesn’t care about being chosen to get information out of her. Then that way they can also find out things she doesn’t like about them and change it. They believe it’ll make themselves more attractive to her and get even better chances to be chosen. Most of the time the suitors will l pay each other to do those things. I believe Glen was only doing as he was told. You should hear out his side of the story first before holding a grudge against him.”

I felt a bit better with the thought that Glen maybe didn’t do what he did because he was perverted but I didn’t know for sure. So far Sebastian had been giving great advice that, when I listened to him, turned out well. I would at least hear out what Glen had to say and then decide if I should forgive him.  
“That’s ridiculous. Hopefully you’re right though. I wouldn’t exactly feel great if the captain of the guard did that to me on his own terms. If you say that I should, then I’ll meet with him later.”  
Sebastian nodded and smiled softly. He patted my hand and straightened up.  
“Wonderful. Let me know what happens, okay? And, next time, don’t try to shut me out by saying ‘I’m fine’ when you’re really not.”  
I laughed lightly and sniffled.  
“Okay. I promise I won’t do that again.”  
There was another knock and the door and this time it was John’s voice.  
“Kyra? Are you in there?”  
I looked to Sebastian and spoke quietly.  
“Can you tell him I’m okay but that I’m going to shower and then meet Nathan? I need to get rid of these red eyes before seeing anyone.”  
He nodded at once and went to the door, cracking it open just barely as he explained the situation vaguely to John. I moved off my bed and towards the bathroom that was in my room. I heard the door close and Sebastian spoke.  
“John said he’ll inform Nathan right away. I’ll let you be alone so you can shower now, m’lady.”  
I stepped out and over to the short butler, giving him another hug.  
“Thank you so much, Sebastian. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”  
Sebastian smiled happily and then left my room.  
I took my time showering, the hot water and alone time relaxing my tense, tired mind. Once I was out, I felt refreshed and a million times better than I had been. I was still uneasy about meeting with this suitor. Even if Glen’s actions weren’t meant to be so upsetting, it made me unhappy about the suitor situation and yet again resistant to it. I’d give Nathan a chance though. Maybe he’d be the white sheep of the group.  
John told me that Nathan would be waiting in the garden for me. I wandered around a bit until I heard a voice behind me.  
“Good morning, Kyra.”  
I turned to see Nathan standing there with his hands behind his back. He looked slightly uncomfortable and tense so I made sure to smile and speak kindly.  
“Morning, Nathan. How are you?”  
“I’m well. How about yourself? Is everything okay? I was worried when you didn’t show up earlier.”  
I brushed my hair behind my ear and laughed off the awkward feeling I had.  
“I’m alright. I just, uh, was in a lot of pain from my arm. Must’ve irritated it when I tried to get dressed.”  
I was surprised at how easily and quickly I was able to come up with that lie. I had thought that the truth would be a bad thing to talk about seeing as it was my first personal meeting with Nathan.  
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay now.” Nathan took a deep breath. “M’lady, if you don’t mind, I’d like a favor from you before our time together continues.”  
My eyebrow raised up suspiciously and nodded, allowing him to continue.  
“I ask that you don’t choose me.”  
This was surprising. A suitor asking to not be chosen?  
“I don’t think I understand… Why?”  
Nathan looked to the side with a small smile and then brought his eyes to me again.  
“I have someone else. She’s back in Derlu and I love her very much. I wish to marry her.”  
I paused and then grinned brightly, grabbing Nathan’s hands.  
“That’s wonderful, Nathan! I won’t keep you from your love, I promise. I would never wish to have you forced to stay here as I am.”  
The green-eyed male in front of me visibly relaxed and sighed in relief. He pulled me into a tight hug and he gave off this giddy, head over heels in love vibe.  
“Oh, thank you Kyra! Thank you so much. I don’t know how to thank you enough!”  
I smiled and then stepped away from the hug. I answered him slowly with a small smirk tugging at my lips.  
“Maybe, when you go home to Derlu, you could… take me with you for a visit?”  
Nathan chuckled and nodded.  
“If The Court allows you to, then of course I’ll take you with me. I’m not sure when that will be happening though.”  
“I could ask John. I don’t really know much about this whole suitor thing.”  
We both shrugged but Nathan seemed quite happy either way.  
“Speaking of, is there anyone in this group that you might choose?”  
“That’s a difficult question, honestly. I thought there was someone but I don’t think I’ll choose at all; no matter who’s in the group.”  
“You mean… you’re resisting marriage?”  
I quickly grabbed Nathan’s arm.  
“Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t know, okay? I could just be having a difficult time accepting all this. My mind could change next week or even tomorrow. Just, please, don’t let this spread. I could get in trouble for it.”  
“Okay, okay. My lips are sealed.”  
Nathan and I walked around the garden for a short while, having a much lighter and more casual conversation. He told me a lot about Derlu and Anelie, his secret lover. He had been chosen as a suitor because his parents wanted him to rise in the social ranks. Anelie apparently wasn’t to the family’s standards and Nathan was forced to not see her again. Obviously, that didn’t work out. He also told me about the plan to run away with her after they eloped. It was the most innocent, love-struck story I had ever heard and the way Nathan spoke of Anelie made even me feel all fuzzy inside. When we had walked back towards the beginning of the garden and I stopped.  
“I really enjoyed our talk, Nathan. I hope you don’t mind if I leave you early? I have something I need to take care of.”  
Nathan smiled and nodded.  
“Of course, Kyra. I enjoyed our talk as well and I hope everything goes smoothly.”  
We parted with a hug and I waited until I lost sight of Nathan. Just as I was about to take a step, I heard Damien’s voice.  
“Kyra! Hi, I’m glad to see you.” He quickly moved towards me and smiled. “What are you doing all alone?”  
“Oh, I just finished talking with Nathan and—”  
“Are you going to pick him?”  
Damien nervously and suddenly asked.  
“What? No, I’m not. But anyways—”  
“Fantastic! I’m glad to hear that. I don’t want anyone stealing you away before I can get a chance.”  
“Uh, okay.” I laughed softly. “I have to go now but I’ll see you later?”  
Damien stepped forward and grabbed my hand, also resting his hand on my waist which I did not like.  
“Kyra, can’t we spend time together right now? Couldn’t you push back your plans? I mean, you are the one in charge. What you say goes.”  
I brushed Damien’s hand off me and pulled our hands apart.  
“No, I can’t, okay? I have to meet with Glen.”  
“Glen? Why Glen? Are you going to choose him?”  
I huffed irritably and shook my head.  
“It’s none of your business and why are you so obsessed with who I’m going to choose?”  
“Isn’t it obvious? I want you to choose me. I’ve only known you for a day but I’m already falling for you.”  
He touched my cheek and I immediately pushed it away.  
“What? You’re ridiculous! You don’t know the first thing about me, Damien.”  
I tried to walk away but he stopped me by holding my arm tightly.  
“Please, I’m desperate for your love.” He yanked me close against his chest and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, Kyra. I want you all to myself.”  
The smirk on his face was sickening to me and I turned my head, trying to squirm out of his death-hold.  
“Let go of me, pervert!”  
“Damien! Let her go.”  
I was suddenly freed from Damien’s grasp and pulled right into another one by the arm. I huffed and looked up, frowning as I saw Glen’s face.  
“You shouldn’t treat her like that if you want to win her over.”  
He said with a sigh. The guard then looked to me to speak again but I shoved his chest as hard as I could before he could utter another word.  
“Hypocrite! What gives you the right to say that when you did the same thing to me?”  
I yelled right in his face before backing away and taking off in a sprint. I went into the stables and saddled Rem as quick as I could. I wanted – no, needed to get away. When I brought Rem outside, Glen was walking over. I mounted Rem and then heard Glen call out to me along with running footsteps.  
“Kyra, wait!”  
I snapped Rem’s reins and he began to carry me deep into the trees with a speedy gallop.  
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I rode far into the forest that stretched behind the palace. My riding trainer showed me this path multiple times. It was a scenic area but I couldn’t look around much as my tears made my eyes sting. The cold wind didn’t help much either. Rem galloped for what felt like forever until he slowed to a stop. I sniffled and wiped my face to see a small clearing. Bright green, thick grass covered the area and there was even a small stream nearby. I dismounted Rem and took off his saddle and bridle, tossing it to the ground. I then walked over to the water with him and sat down next to him as he drank. I sighed and slowly pet Rem’s neck.  
“Why is this happening to me?” I mumbled and then huffed, looking at Rem as if he was a friend I was holding a conversation with. “I hate this whole thing. The suitor thing. I don’t mind being royalty ‘cause that part is awesome, but why do I have to marry someone? Can’t I just rule on my own and adopt a kid like Scorch said?” I groaned loudly and shook my hands in front on me. “And why, for god’s sake, why must Glen and Damien be such douchebags? They were the only two suitors I actually felt okay around. Especially Glen… Dammit! Why does he have to look like Scorch?” I rubbed my temples with my hands and then pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance. My voice calmed down a bit and I breathed in deeply, the cool air helping to relax my stressed-out body. “They’re not even here and they’re bothering me.” I moved back against a large tree and Rem followed, pressing his damp nose against the palm of my hand when I held it out. “You’re lucky. You get spoiled like me but you don’t have to deal with suitors… Want to trade places?”  
Rem pulled his nose away and went to wander about a bit. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes with a heavy sigh. My mind and body eventually relaxed and I fell asleep. I remembered having dreams but I didn’t remember the actual dreams. I just remembered feeling secure and warm, like I was back in my bed. I slept for what felt like two minutes but what was, in reality, two hours. I slowly woke up, surprisingly not with a backache from leaning against a tree. Speaking of, it hadn’t felt like I was leaning against a tree. It was very warm and comfortable; very unlike a tree. My eyebrows pinched together in confusion as slowly looked behind me. What I saw immediately made me scramble away. I had not been asleep against a tree. I had been asleep against a man.

Data Entry Three  
End


	4. Data Entry Four

“Glen? What in the hell are you doing?”

The soldier had been jerked awake and he looked like he was ready to attack until he saw that I was safe. He yawned casually and then looked at me with those bright amber eyes of his.

“The sun was setting and you started to shiver.”

He answered me so simply that it was infuriating. How could he be acting so relaxed after the events of today? I groaned and rolled my eyes before glaring at him harshly.

“How did you even find me? And why would you follow me when I obviously don’t want you around me?”

Glen looked at me with a ‘Are you serious?’ expression and I clenched my hands into fists. I wanted to punch that smug look right off his face.

“I’m a soldier and your guard. Do you really think that I couldn’t track you down?” He shifted his position. “Plus, I saw the way you ran and just followed the trail. I found you right before you fell asleep. I’m not a douchebag, by the way.”

My glare fell from my face when he mentioned that last part.

“Did you…”

“Just the tail end of it, I think. I came in somewhere around ‘Why must Glen and Damien be such douchebags?’. I heard everything after that too. Even the part where you wanted to trade places with your horse.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away, frowning again.

“Well, you deserved to hear that because you are a douchebag after what you did this morning…”

“Maybe if you would’ve talked to me instead of running off, you wouldn’t think of me that way.” Glen snapped and then closed his eyes with a deep breath. He looked at me again and spoke softer. “Will you hear me out now?”

I glanced to him and stayed silent for a moment. I didn’t care if the other suitors paid him to do what he did. He could’ve said no and spared me the hurt. I agreed to hear him out anyways.

“Fine.”

“I was forced to do that to you. I know you’ve probably heard the rumors about suitors doing that for each other but they have a choice to do that. I didn’t. If I wouldn’t have done what I did, I would’ve been dismissed from my position as captain and sent out of the palace.”

I met his eyes when he told me the truth. I suddenly felt very guilty and moved to face Glen more as he continued.

“I would’ve never hurt you out of my own will, Kyra. I’m sorry for what happened and I hope you can forgive me.”

I nodded slowly and looked over him quickly. He was dressed more casual than usual. He normally wore his captain’s uniform but then he was wearing a white button up shirt and black pants. When I looked to the side I saw his gun holster on the ground next to him. A freezing cold wind blew and made me shiver. Glen pulled his jacket out from under the holster and laid it over my shoulders. He then sat close to me but didn’t touch me.

“Kyra, I feel really bad about—”

“Who made you do it?”

I interrupted, keeping my eyes to the ground. I heard Glen sigh softly and he shook his head.

“I don’t know if I should tell you. It might make you biased.”

“I don’t care, Glen.” I said sharply when I turned to gaze to him. I then breathed out shakily and made my voice a bit kinder. “I just want to know.”

Glen obviously didn’t want to say but he couldn’t say no to the boss.

“John. At first, he just wanted to know who you liked most but then changed his mind after dinner. He wanted to know about me specifically. He said you kept staring at me.”

I clenched my hands together again. I wanted to scream and let out all my anger but I just forced it down. I trusted John…

“That jealous bastard.”

I mumbled angrily. Glen gently and cautiously rested his hand on my shoulder.

“Kyra, I know you’re mad but it’s like you said. He’s just jealous and went overboard. He’s not trying to hurt you.”

My anger suddenly disappeared and was replaced with tiredness. I closed my eyes and relaxed my hands in my lap.

“I know, I’m just not adjusting to all this very well. And even so, I could never see John as anything but my tutor. As a suitor he’s so…”

“Overbearing? Stalker-ish? Head over heels in love with you?”

Glen emphasized that last one to tease me and he topped it off with a nice laugh. I glanced up to him and laughed as well. I was reminded of Scorch’s playful personality. It was refreshing.  
“Don’t remind me.”

“Speaking of, we should probably be getting back soon. You know that John will lose it if you’re not back in time to eat.”

I groaned irritably and laid back against the grass, covering my eyes with my hand.

“I don’t want to go back. I don’t care if John flips out because if I see him, I might end up punching him in the face.”

“You can’t do that or else he’ll get mad at me. Though if you do punch him, at least let me be there to watch.”

Glen stood up and I uncovered my eyes to watch him grab our horses and start saddling them. I sat up and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I’m not leaving yet so why are you putting a saddle on Rem?”

“Like I said, we need to get back or else they’ll send out a search party.”

“I don’t care.” I moved away, close to the stream, and faced my back towards Glen. “I’m not going back after the day I’ve had.”

He sighed and huffed, walking over to me.

“I know you’ve had a bad day but you can’t stay out in the woods. You’ll freeze.”

I tugged Glen’s coat tighter around me and looked down at the water in front of me. I knew he was right but I didn’t want to go back to the palace. I didn’t want to deal with John or Damien or anyone. I wanted to be alone. Although, Glen’s presence didn’t bother me much besides that he was trying to get me to leave.

“I’m warm enough with your jacket…”

I said quietly. Glen knelt next to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

“Kyra, you’re being stubborn. Let’s get back to the palace and I’ll tell John that you’re not feeling well enough to eat. Then you won’t have to see him, okay?”

He tried to pull me to my feet but I squirmed away from him.

“No! I don’t want to go!” I said childishly, reaching down and then splashing Glen in the face with cold water from the stream. He stayed still and I gasped softly. I couldn’t believe that I just did that. “Oh… I’m so sorry, Glen! I didn’t mean—”

The next thing I knew was that my face was freezing cold. Glen smirked after he had splashed me back.

“Payback.”

I laughed and lightly nudged Glen’s arm.

“Jerk.” I wiped off my face and smiled. “Is this how you treat royalty?”

“No, it’s how I treat stubborn children.” He stood up and held out his hand to me. “Come on. We’re heading back.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be that I tell you what to do?”

Glen rolled his eyes slightly and shook his head with a smile.

“Will you just come with me already? It’s starting to rain.”

I glanced up at the sky and felt tiny drops on my face. I sighed and grabbed Glen’s hand.

“Fine, but only because it’s raining.”

We walked over to our horses and finished getting their equipment on. Glen stood beside his horse and looked at me.

“Need help mounting?”

I shook my head and pulled myself onto Rem’s saddle.

“I’m not a damsel in distress.”

Glen laughed and kicked his horse gently after mounting.

“Alright, alright. I just asked.”

I smiled and looked down as Rem followed the other horse.

“Oh! Do you want your jacket back?”

“No, I’ll be fine without it for now. You look cold anyways.”

I put my arms through the jacket so it wouldn’t slip off my shoulders while we were riding. 

“By the way, if you ever need an ‘escape’ from the palace, just tell me and I’ll take you out here or something, okay? Promise me that you’ll come to me if you need me.”

“Okay.” I smiled. What a thoughtful offer. “I promise and thank you. I really appreciate that.”

Once it started raining harder, we urged our horses to make it back to the stables quicker. We took off their equipment and then put them in their stalls afterwards. Glen opened the door to the stables and looked outside.

“It’s really coming down…”

I walked over and looked outside as well. I hummed and then sighed.

“It really is. Should we make a break for the palace?”

Glen glanced to me and then tugged at the sleeve of his jacket that I was still wearing.

“We could put this over our heads if you don’t want to get wet. We’d have to walk close though and I don’t know how comfortable you are being close to someone today.”

I shrugged and slipped off the jacket, handing it to him.

“It’s fine. What you did doesn’t bother me anymore now that I know your side.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I really didn’t want you to hate me.”

“Well, I can assure you that I do not hate you in the slightest.” I then paused and smiled playfully. “Okay, maybe I hate you a bit for making me come back here.”

Glen chuckled as he held his jacket over our heads.

“You’d hate me more if I’d left you out in the rain without my jacket.” He then pushed the door open again and looked forward. “Alright, ready to go?”

I nodded and then we began quickly walking back to the palace. Once we were inside, Glen shook his jacket off and ran his fingers through his hair. I shivered and rubbed my arms, sighing happily at the feeling of the warm air in the hallway.

“I would give you my jacket again but I think it’d make you colder rather than warmer.”

Glen said, touching the fabric and feeling how soaked it had become. I shrugged and started slowly walking.

“It’s okay.” I sighed and pushed back my hair. “Dammit. I’m starving…”

The amber-eyed guard tossed his jacket over his shoulder and walked close to me. He hummed and looked down at me.

“I could go check and see if John is in the dining room and drive him away if he is in there.”

He smiled and I stopped walking.

“Could you? I really don’t want to be around him… But if it’ll get you I trouble then I’ll go tell him myself.”

“No, I won’t get in trouble. Just stay here and I’ll go talk to him.”

Glen then disappeared for about fifteen minutes. All of which I was worried about running into John or Damien. Eventually Glen came back and I walked up to him. He lightly touched his hand against my back and led me forward.

“John is gone and the chefs are cooking something up for you. You could probably go change into dry clothes and then be back just as your food is finished.”

I nodded and then hugged Glen without hesitation. I buried my face against his chest and mumbled softly.

“Thank you…”

Glen seemed to be a bit taken back by my sudden action but he hugged me back. I was truly grateful of how kind he had been to me the past couple hours. I was able to laugh and feel comfortable and I didn’t have to worry about John. I didn’t understand how someone who just met me could be so kind.

“You’re welcome, Kyra.”

I slowly pulled away from the hug and looked up at him.

“Would you… like to eat with me?”

Glen smiled and nodded.

“Sure. I’ll meet you there after I change, okay?”

“Okay.”

I smiled softly and made it back to my room without anyone bothering me. I changed into a warm, long sleeved shirt and pants and walked back to the dining room with only socks on. Honestly, I hated shoes. Always had. My wet hair was up in a bun to keep my back from getting damp. I hummed and smiled when I walked into the dining room, smelling a delicious aroma. I pulled my chair out a bit and Glen walked through the door just as I did so. I looked over at him and smiled more. He was wearing almost the same exact outfit he was before but he had on a jacket instead of a button up. He still had his gun holster on and had a very professional attitude. I wondered if he’d ever break out of his shell around me.

“Wow. It smells really good in here.”

He said, walking over to the chair next to me and sitting down as I did.

“It does. It’s making me even more hungry.”

“Me too.” He leaned forward and rested his head on his hand, looking at me intently. “Who’s ‘Scorch’?”

I was surprised by his question and raised my eyebrow. My back tensed a bit with worry that he had found out about my computer somehow.

“Where’d you hear that?”

“You were talking about it to your horse and I overheard the conversation, remember? You said I looked like him.”

I relaxed a bit knowing that my secret was safe still. I looked away, slightly embarrassed by the fact that Glen heard what I said.

“He’s my best friend. He lives in the city. In the apartment next to mine, actually.”

The guard hummed and sat back in his chair.

“Do you miss him?”

I brought my eyes up and nodded.

“Tremendously.”

Glen sighed and moved his eyes around the room.

“I bet it’s difficult to be around me if I look so much like him, huh?”

“A little bit, yes…” I answered softly. I then quickly spoke again and touched his arm. “But it’s not bad! I’m getting used to you being two separate people because you two act very different.”

“Alright. I just don’t want to cause you any emotional distress.”

“Don’t worry about it, okay Glen? I’m tougher than you think I am.”

I smiled to reassure him and he nodded. After that, we had a nice spaghetti dinner and casual conversation. I was exhausted by the time we were done and yawned as I stood up.

“I’m going to sleep well tonight.”

Glen stood up and smiled slightly.

“Hopefully you do. Would you like me to walk you back to your room?”

“Oh, you don’t have to. I bet you’re tired as well and want to get back to your own room.”

“I don’t mind. It’s not like I’ll be losing much sleep by doing so.”

We walked out of the dining room and I shrugged.

“Okay then. If you want to, I’m alright with it. I like the company.”

The guard nodded and folded his hands behind his back while we walked. He never ceased to give off a protective vibe. Every time there was a small noise while we walked, I noticed that he’d glance around quickly and relax his hands incase he had to grab his gun. It was comforting to know what a good guard he was. I could only think highly of the men he trained as well. I hoped that none of them would have to put their lives on the line for my sake. Especially Glen…

“Thank you for tonight. I really feel a lot better than I did this morning.”

“I’m glad about that. I hope you have an excellent sleep to make the night even nicer.” Glen grabbed my hand gently and pressed a kiss against the top of it. “Goodnight, Kyra.”

“Goodnight, Glen.”

I said back softly, going into my room and then shutting door. Glen’s footsteps disappeared after a few seconds and I changed into Scorch’s sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. I could hear the rain outside and when I got into bed, I was asleep immediately. I was sleeping comfortably and deeply until I was scared awake by a loud sound at about four in the morning. My heart was racing as I listened to the sound echoing throughout the palace. I knew what that alarm meant and I was utterly terrified. I jumped out of bed and went towards my door, opening it so I could run down to the safe room. I gasped when I was suddenly pulled back into my room and the door was shut and locked. A hand was cupped over my mouth and I was pulled into my bathroom, the door also being locked behind me. When everything slowed down, I looked up to see Glen holding me tightly against himself as he watched the doorknob. He removed his hand from my mouth and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Stay quiet. There’s an intruder in the palace.”

Data Entry Four  
End


	5. Data Entry Five

My heart was basically beating out of my chest at this point. Someone had broken into the palace within the first two months of me being here. Who was so adamant about bringing down the royals in Ero? I stayed close to Glen, feeling safe with him. His gun was in his hand and he was watching the door with intense eyes. I knew that the moment that doorknob moved, he’d be shooting. The alarm had only been going off for about five minutes before it stopped. Glen didn’t say a word and he didn’t let me move. He was now listening to every sound he heard and squeezing me a bit tighter each time footsteps went passed my door. I jolted in his hold when there was a sudden loud knock at my door.  
“Kyra? Kyra, it’s John! The intruder has been apprehended. You’re safe now!”  
Glen looked at me and held his finger over his lips to tell me to still stay quiet. He slowly let go of me and signaled to me to stay put. He quietly walked out of the bathroom, gun in hand, and I heard the room door open. There was sudden conversation that I didn’t hear much of and then Glen came back to pull me out of the bathroom.  
“They have him down by the main staircases. He came in through the front door. I’m going to go and check on my men, okay? You should stay here.”  
I quickly shook my head and grabbed Glen’s arm.  
“No, no! Please, don’t leave me alone.”  
The guard sighed and then nodded hesitantly.  
“Okay, but stay behind me once we get down there, understand?”  
I agreed and he walked me downstairs to where they were holding the intruder. By the time we were there, most of the other guards had formed a tight circle around him with their guns aimed at him. Glen still held his weapon in hand and glanced over his shoulder to make sure I was still behind him. He called over one of the other guards to stand in front of me while Glen approached the intruder himself.  
“Why are you here?”  
He asked in a rough, deep voice. The intruder quickly spoke up in a furious voice, struggling against his cuffs and the other guards’ hold.  
“I need to see Kyra!”  
I gasped and shoved the guard in front of me out of the way. I tried to make it through the circle of guards but they grabbed me and stopped me.  
“No! Let go of me! I need to see him!”  
I saw Glen look over to me and he briskly walked over, holding my arm.  
“What has gotten into you? Get back! This is your life on the line here!”  
He said angrily. I tried to shake him off and push through again.  
“Let go of me right now.” I demanded sharply. “I know him!”  
Glen frowned and still held my arm, cautiously bringing me through the circle of guards and to the intruder.   
“Scorch!” I pushed the guard’s hand off me and I ran to my best friend, hugging his torso tightly. “You dumbass, what are you doing here?”  
“I had to see you.” He answered quickly, then leaning his head down and whispering into my ear. “You messaged me saying you wanted to meet up tonight and then never messaged me back. I was worried.”  
I had completely forgotten… I looked up into his soft amber eyes and put my hands on his cheeks, in tears now.  
“I’m so sorry.” I whispered back. “But you shouldn’t have come. You could’ve been killed!” I said at my normal volume, burying my face back into Scorch’s chest as I cried.  
Glen turned to one of the guards holding Scorch.  
“Was he armed?”  
“No sir.”  
There was then a short silence and Glen spoke again.  
“Uncuff him. He’s not going to hurt her.”  
“Absolutely not!”  
Another voice chimed in. John was standing behind Glen and he glared at me when I looked at him.  
“Miss Kyra, get away from that criminal right now.”  
“Criminal?”  
I repeated angrily, wiping my face and turning around completely.  
“Yes, criminal. He trespassed on private property and broke into the palace! That it quite a serious crime that he’ll have to spend a lot of time in prison for.”  
“No!” I immediately retaliated. I desperately looked for a way to get Scorch out of this mess and I smirked pridefully when the idea hit me. “I’m giving him full amnesty.”  
Both Glen and John responded with a shocked ‘What?’ and John proceeded to glare at me once again. He stepped close to me and lowered his voice.  
“I don’t care what relationship you have with this man. He is a criminal and needs to be punished for it.”  
Without hesitation I came close to John’s face and spoke to him with powerful authority.  
“If you dare to charge him with criminal acts I will see that you are banned from this palace and stripped of your ability to work within royal families.”  
I saw in John’s eyes that he knew he had been beat. He stepped back, looked up to Scorch, and scoffed.  
“Fine. Give him amnesty but he has to leave right now.”  
I grabbed John’s arm before he could walk away and held eye contact.  
“You will talk to The Court about either letting him visit me here or myself visiting him in the city. After this occurrence, it’s come to my attention that we cannot be separated anymore. Do you understand me, Mr. Mason?”  
The redhead looked at me harshly and nodded slowly.  
“Understood, m’lady.”  
He said coldly, then jerking his arm out of my hold and walking away. I looked down at the ground, my hands shaking, and breathed in deeply. I turned around to see Scorch being uncuffed and I embraced him once again, this time feeling him hug me back as well. I relaxed into his hold and the guards began to disperse when Glen gave them the word. Soon it was just Scorch, myself, Glen, and two other guards.  
“Kyra, I’m sorry, but he does have to leave. We can’t allow him to stay.”  
I heard Glen said gently when he stepped over to me. I held Scorch tighter and looked over to my guard.  
“Can’t he stay just a few more minutes? I haven’t seen him in over a month…”  
He tensed a bit and hesitated to answer.  
“Fine, but only a few minutes.”  
“Thank you, Glen.”  
I smiled, then pulling Scorch over to a small couch nearby. I looked over his body and gently touched his face where I saw a bruise forming.  
“Did they hurt you?”  
I asked quietly, Scorch responding with a small laugh.  
“I got a good punch to the jaw by one of them when they saw me opening the door but besides that, I’m fine.”  
I then punched his shoulder hard and glared at him even when he winced in pain.  
“You’re such an idiot! I can’t believe you broke into here after a whole royal family was assassinated. You could’ve been shot instead of punched.” I tapped his forehead with my finger a couple times. “Is there no brain in there?”  
Scorch waved my hand away and rolled his eyes, continuing our conversation in a quieter voice since the guards were still nearby.  
“You didn’t respond to me. I thought someone had hurt you.”  
“Scorch, if someone had hurt me, it would’ve been all over the news. I just forgot about our plans and fell asleep before I could message you back. I had a long day.”  
I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Scorch breathed in deeply and nodded.  
“Okay, okay. I overreacted and I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re all I have, Kyra. I’ve already mostly lost you with you being here.”  
I looked up to him and saw the sadness in his expression.  
“You haven’t lost me, Scorch. Soon we’ll be able to see more of each other. Just no more stupid decisions, okay? Or else I won’t be able to make excuses for you.”  
He nodded and then hugged me again, smiling when he let go and saw what I was wearing.  
“Are you going to give me my sweatshirt back?”  
“No way.” I smiled back when I stood up. “Come on. Time for you to go.”  
Scorch sighed and made it difficult to say goodbye. He stood at the door with those sad eyes but a smile on his lips. I couldn’t help but hug him one last time before the to guards escorted him back to his apartment. The doors shut and I turned to look at Glen. I sighed and stepped forward tiredly.  
“I’m sorry for this whole mess. I had no idea he was capable of doing something like that.”  
I avoided Glen’s eyes and stood there awkwardly when he was silent for a while.  
“He does look a bit like me.” He finally said, making me bring my gaze up. “The eyes, definitely.” He breathed in and reached up, gently wiping a tear from my face. “Are you okay?”  
I nodded at first but then shook my head.  
“No.” I whimpered quietly. “I was so scared. First for myself and then him. I still can’t calm down.”  
I admitted shakily. I hated to be so emotional in front of such a tough soldier but it didn’t seem to bother him. He pulled me into a gentle hug and put his hand on the back of my head.  
“I wouldn’t have let anyone hurt you, Kyra. And your friend wouldn’t have been seriously hurt unless he was attacking you.” He pulled back and brushed my hair behind my ears. “It’s okay now though, alright? You’re safe and he is too… Let’s get you back to bed, hm?”  
I nodded and Glen walked next to me with his arm around my shoulders loosely. When I was inside my room, he helped me into bed and even pulled the sheets over my body. I hadn’t thought about him being so sweet and it made me feel even more comforted to have him be my guard.  
“There. Are you okay now? Do you need anything before I leave?”  
I shook my head against the pillow and closed my eyes.  
“No, I’m fine. Thank you, Glen.”  
I answered tiredly.  
“Alright. Goodnight then, Kyra.”  
Glen said in a whisper before quietly leaving my room.  
The next morning, everyone was still tense from Scorch’s intrusion. I had slept in to catch up on the sleep I missed but I still felt tired when I woke up. My arm was also hurting quite badly, probably from how much I moved it last night. I struggled a bit to change out of Scorch’s sweatshirt but besides that, I stayed in my pajamas. Being tired and in pain brought out the laziest side of me. While I was making my sluggish way downstairs, I overheard a couple maids gossiping when they walked passed the hallway. I frowned when I heard one of them say that Scorch was my secret lover who wanted to steal me away. What a ridiculous rumor. I simply ignored it for now and went into the dining room for breakfast. John, unfortunately, was there. I sat down without a word and then leaned my head back and closed my eyes. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, John’s voice finally broke through.  
“I suppose you don’t want to hear that today is my turn to be with you.”  
“Yeah. That’s pretty much the last thing I wanted to hear.”  
I answered, not moving or even opening my eyes. John sighed and spoke calmly.  
“Kyra, I know you’re mad at me about last night but I was only doing my duty. I am, along with everyone else in this palace, supposed to protect you at all costs. Even if it involves your… boyfriend.”  
I heard John say that last word with slight disgust and extreme jealousy. I sat up and looked at him.  
“What?” I asked sharply. “What in god’s name makes you think that he is my boyfriend? He’s my best friend, John.”  
John scoffed and just kept looking over the paperwork in front of him.  
“It definitely didn’t look like you two were only ‘best friends’ when you hugged.”  
I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair.  
“You’re seriously getting jealous over a hug? It’s a hug, John. Literally everyone on the face of this planet hugs people for different reasons. Just because I hugged him, does not make him my boyfriend. He is only my friend and that’s the way it’s always been.”  
“Things change.”  
“You are so—” I bit my tongue to spare John his feelings and then stood up abruptly. “You know what? If you won’t believe what I say, which is the truth, then I don’t want to be around you and your toxic jealousy.”  
I went to walk away but John also stood and grabbed my arm. He just so happened to go for my injured arm and yank it a little too rough. I gasped and winced sharply when I felt a stitch rip.  
“Ow, dammit!”  
John immediately let go of me when he saw the pain I was in. He then put his hand over his mouth and his eyes widened at the effect of his actions.  
“Kyra, oh my god, I-I’m so sorry… I didn’t mea—”  
“No! Get away from me!”  
I said angrily when he reached out to me. I held my hand over the gash and felt warm blood start to trickle onto my hand. John continued to get close though.  
“Kyra, please, you need to sit down and wait for me to get the doctor for you.”  
I shoved him away hard with my healthy arm, leaving a bloody handprint on his shirt without realizing it. “I can find him on my own. Just leave me alone.” I roughly told him.  
I pushed my way out of the door and walked unevenly down the hallway. I started to feel dizzy from the intense pain shooting all the way down my arm. I held my hand over the bleeding wound tightly and groaned quietly. There was blood all over my hand and it started to trail down my arm just barely. I heard a loud gasp that made me look up.  
“Kyra!” Damien wrapped his arm carefully around my torso and held me tightly. He had to bend down a bit since he was so tall but he was able to walk with me quite easily. “What happened to you?”  
I had my head down to try to get the world to stop spinning.  
“One of my stitches tore.”  
“Okay, well I’m taking you to the doctor right now.”  
“No, I’m fine. I can walk on my own.”  
Damien huffed and held me against his side for support.  
“You’re bleeding and I cannot in good conscience leave you alone. I’m sorry, but I’m helping you whether you like it or not.”  
I just closed my eyes and went along with it. I was in the doctor’s room in no time and I started to feel much better after I was re-stitched and given something for the pain. I was sitting up on the doctor’s couch, sipping at a cup of water, while he finished wiping the blood off my hand and arm. He then taped gauze over the stitches tightly and removed his glasses from his face.  
“Alright. Try not to rip these out again, deal? It’ll take an extra week or so for this to heal up now. You should be fine in about two months, maybe less if you really take care of it.”  
I nodded and sighed.  
“Okay. Thank you again.”  
Damien was anxiously pacing at the door and I looked over to him, laughing a bit.  
“Will you relax? I’m not dying.”  
“Oh, don’t even make me think of such a horrible thing. I think I’ll be scarred for the rest of my life just from seeing your hand covered in blood.” The blonde man said while walking over to sit besides me. “How are you feeling?”  
I shrugged, using only my good arm, and breathed in slowly.  
“Fine, I suppose. It doesn’t hurt as bad as it did the first time. I believe I have the pain medicine to thank for that.”  
Damien nodded and hummed, then looking down and taking a deep breath before speaking slowly.  
“I know this isn’t the best time but, I wanted to apologize for the way I acted last time we were alone. That’s not how I usually act, I promise. If I’m being completely honest, I had been drinking earlier and that’s what caused me to be so inappropriate with you. I am very, very sorry. I hope you can forgive me?”  
He looked up to me and I blinked a few times.  
“Oh. Well, I suppose if you make it up to me, I can forgive you.”  
I told him with a small smile. He then sat up straight with excitement and was about to hug me but stopped himself. He was probably worried that he’d hurt me.  
“Thank you, Kyra! I promise I’ll make it up to you as best as I can. If you’ll excuse me, I want to start planning our day together.”  
He suddenly kissed my cheek and then left the room within a matter of seconds. I laughed lightly and shook my head. After a little while longer, the doctor let me leave his room with a small bottle of pain pills to take when I needed it. I kept myself close to the wall incase I needed to lean against it. While I was walking, I could hear the talk of my injury spreading throughout the palace. Apparently more than a few servants saw Damien helping me walk while there was blood on my hand.  
“M’lady! Oh, m’lady!”  
I heard a small sob in front of me and saw my favorite butler walking towards me as fast as he could. He hugged me without hesitation and I felt his whole body shaking.  
“Sebastian, are you okay?”  
I asked worriedly, hugging him back as tightly as my arm could handle. He looked up to me and wiped his face.  
“I’m sorry.” He pulled away from the hug and breathed in shakily. “I heard that you were hurt again and there was no other news. I was so worried about you and had no idea where you were so I could check on you.”  
His tear-stained face broke my heart and I brought him into a hug once more.  
“I’m okay, Sebastian, I promise. One stitch tore, that’s all.”  
“I heard others saying that John did that to you…”  
He told me quietly. I looked away and thought for a moment before opening my mouth.  
“No. John did not do this. It was a freak accident while I was changing.” I made sure Sebastian was looking at me while I continued. “If anyone says that John did this to me, I want you to tell them that they’re wrong and I told you that myself, understand?”  
Sebastian nodded and grabbed my hand.  
“Okay, I’ll do that right away. May I escort you somewhere first though? I want to make sure you get there safely.”  
“I want to get back to the dining room if you don’t mind.”  
The butler held my waist and kept me steady while we made our way little by little. Once we were close to our destination, I looked up to see John talking to Damien anxiously. He then saw me and I looked at Sebastian.  
“You can go now. I’ll be alright from here on out. Thank you, Sebastian.”  
“Of course, m’lady. I’ll go handle those rumors now.”  
He then disappeared down the hall and John came up to me cautiously. I could tell that he was scared and had been crying.  
“Kyra, I am beyond sorry. I know what I did was unforgivable but I had no intention to hurt you.”  
He started to tear up and I wiped away the tears with my finger.  
“I know, John, I know. I’m sorry too for lashing out at you. I’m okay though and I’m not holding a grudge against you.”  
“Really? I-I don’t understand why.”  
“Honestly, I don’t either. I guess I’m just in a forgiving mood today.” I hummed and began walking again. “Come on now. I’m starving.”

Data Entry Five  
End


	6. Data Entry Six

A few weeks had passed and things around the palace were going slow. I didn’t spend much time with the suitors due to The Court wanting me to heal before doing anything strenuous. Besides that, Nathan was really the only suitor available at the time. Glen had been focusing much of his time on training a new batch of guards that had come in. I occasionally saw their training sessions going on late into the night. When Glen and I did spend time together, I started to see more Glen and less Scorch which made it much easier for us to grow close. Damien had to fly back to his home for a while because his younger sister was seriously injured in a car accident. I felt so sorry for him after seeing him sobbing in the hallway when he received the news. He had redeemed himself like he said he would so we were on good terms and connected very well. As for John, he was busy most days talking to The Court about visitation privileges for Scorch. John and I had butted heads so many times and yet he still was doing that to make me happy; despite his jealousy issues. One of the days John was with The Court, I had gone in and told them details about Scorch, why he was trustworthy enough to come to the palace, and things like that. I was very hopefully about having my best friend come to visit me. I thought it’d be a huge stress relief for the both of us. No more having to sneak around to see each other. I smiled and sighed happily, walking out of the stables after saying hello to Rem. I glanced up at the sky and then breathed in deeply. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a small breeze here and there.  
“It’s truly the perfect day to be outside.”  
Nathan approached me with his hands folded behind his back. I smiled at him and walked over.  
“It is, isn’t it? I don’t believe there’s been a better day since I arrived here.”  
“Would you like to walk with me?”  
I hummed and then nodded, looking up to the blonde’s energetic face.  
“That sounds very nice. Lead the way.”  
Nathan and I began walking through the garden, going along for quite a while. At one point, I took off my shoes and held them in my hand, smiling at the nice feeling of the soft grass against my feet. Eventually, the man besides me stopped walking and turned to me.  
“Do you mind if we sit down and talk?”  
“Oh, sure.”  
I answered softly, sitting on the ground across from Nathan. He seemed to be a bit more serious than normal and he sighed before beginning to speak.  
“I hope I don’t come off as rude, but I wanted to make sure that you haven’t forgotten about me. I stated from the very start that I didn’t want to be your choice because I am already in love. Well, it’s getting close to two months that I’ve been here and yet I haven’t heard a single thing from you about my return home.”  
Nathan sounded disappointed at the end and I felt horrible. He was right. I had completely forgotten about sending him home because of my injury and Scorch’s situation. I moved closer to him and rested my hand on his arm.  
“Oh, Nathan, I’m so sorry. You can blame me in full for you staying here longer than needed. So much has happened lately… But, besides that, I want to get you home as soon as possible. John is debating with The Court about having my friend visit the palace so I don’t think he’ll have the time to ask them about you while that situation is still in progress. As soon as he’s done though, I’ll have him begin working on sending you back to Derlu, I promise. Here,” I held out my pinkie to him “pinkie promise.”  
He looked at my finger in confusion and then brought his eyes up to mine.  
“What?”  
I laughed lightly and shook my head.  
“Don’t tell me that you’ve never heard of a pinkie promise!”  
“I was barely allowed out of my house when I was a kid so, no, I don’t know what a pinkie promise is.”  
Nathan smiled with a shrug. I then gasped quietly but still smiled right back at him.  
“Okay, that’s a very depressing backstory that I will hear about one of these days but for now, I’m going to teach you something that will help you catch up on your childhood. So, when someone wants you to make a promise with them, you do it with a pinkie promise. It’s basically like the almighty of promises. You just hold out your pinkie finger and then hook it together with the other person’s. Simple as that.” I held up Nathan’s hand and wrapped my pinkie around his. “Congratulations, Mr. Bruder, you just made your first pinkie promise.”  
He laughed and squeezed his pinkie around mine gently before pulling away and shaking his head.  
“That’s definitely something a child would do. If a pinkie promise gets me back to Derlu though, I’ll pinkie promise every day until I’m back. And maybe I’ll pinkie promise with Analie instead of putting a ring on her finger. ‘I pinkie promise to make you my wife.’ How do you think she’ll like that?”  
He chuckled again and I giggled as well.  
“I think she’ll love it. What girl wants a wedding ring anyways?”  
I asked sarcastically, shrugging my shoulders up playfully. Nathan smiled and hummed.  
“Speaking of, this just came into my mind, what kind of ring do you want?”  
I raised my eyebrow at him and crossed my arms over my chest with a suspicious smirk.  
“Are you asking out of genuine curiosity or are you asking for John?”  
Nathan scoffed and rolled his eyes slightly.  
“I genuinely curious, I swear. I haven’t even seen John for almost a week.”  
“Okay, fine then.” I uncrossed my arms and glanced down at my ring finger. “I want a silver band with some sort of blue stone. I’ve always liked those two colors together and I prefer silver over gold.”  
The green-eyed man hummed and then began to slowly sit up.  
“Ah, well, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see John about a completely unrelated topic.”  
Nathan smirked playfully and I gasped with a small laugh.  
“You jerk!”  
I then pulled up some grass from the ground and tossed it right into his face. Nathan huffed and then wiped off the few pieces of grass that stuck to his face.  
“Oh, you’re on.”  
He grabbed two handfuls of grass and then threw them at my face. I was able to dodge a bit but most it hit its target. I laughed and just when I threw another handful at Nathan, he had jumped up and ran off a couple feet. Our little grass battle went on for a quite while until we had run ourselves all the way back near the stables. Nathan had reached down to ‘reload’ but I stood above him with two huge handfuls off fallen leaves that I picked up. He chuckled lowly and shook his head.  
“Alright, alright. I surrender, your majesty. I know when I’ve been beat.”  
I smirked and still let the leaves rain down on him. He moved away and then stood up, shaking all the leaves out of his hair.  
“Attacking after I surrendered? Remind me to make sure Derlu never gets into a war with your country.”  
“You won’t need a reminder because I’m quite positive that you’ll remember the day I won The Great Grass War.”  
I teased him, earning another small laugh from him. He brushed himself off completely and then breathed in deeply.  
“You’re right about that.” He ran his fingers through his hair a couple times and then looked at me. “Are there anymore leaves in my hair?”  
I stepped closer and looked over his head, taking out a couple tiny pieces that he missed.  
“Alright, there you are.”  
Nathan fixed his hair then hugged me tightly and spun me around suddenly. He laughed and kissed my cheek, a huge, dorky smile on his face.  
“What was all that about?”  
I asked with a laugh, regaining my balance when he let go of me. He grabbed my hands and spoke excitedly.  
“I’m just so happy to be going home soon. And I get to take you with me! It’ll be so exciting!”  
“I’m looking forward to it as well. I’ll be glad to see you home and it’s a dream come true for me to go to Derlu! I may never come back! You’ll truly be making me the happiest girl in the world.”  
I teased with another laugh. Nathan hugged me again but pulled away tensely after a short moment. I glanced up to see him looking at something behind me. I quickly turned around and then saw Glen standing there giving Nathan a death glare.  
“John was asking for you, Nathan.”  
“Oh, okay. I’ll go see him right now then. Is he in his office?”  
The guard answered with a simple nod and Nathan stepped close to me, leaning down to whisper in my ear.  
“If you haven’t already considered picking him, I would. He has looks on his side.”  
I laughed quietly and rolled my eyes. I then smacked him in the chest with my flats.  
“Get out of here already.”  
Nathan left, walking at a brisk pace, and I walked over to Glen. He seemed a bit off that day. More tense than usual and as if he had a dark cloud over him. He was in his regular military uniform so I guessed that he had a break from training.  
“How are the new recruits doing?”  
I asked lightly. Glen avoided my eyes and turned away, beginning to walk back to the palace.  
“They’re fine.”  
His answer was plain and even slightly harsh, like he was mad or something.  
“Are you okay?”  
I walked next to him, looking at his face to try to get him to look at me in return. He huffed and suddenly stopped. His normally bright amber eyes were dark when he finally met my gaze and he snapped at me when he spoke.  
“I apologize in advance for being rude but, I do not want to talk to you right now, Kyra. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to training instead of being John’s little messenger.”  
He turned again and walked again.   
“Glen, wait.” I grabbed his arm but he ripped out of my hold and walked even faster. I became irritated by Glen’s attitude and I chucked one of my shoes right at the back of his head. “Hey! You don’t get to act like that to me.”  
Glen rubbed the back of his head where my shoe hit and swiftly stepped close with a pissed off glare.  
“And why is that? Just because you’re royalty? My only job is to protect you, not be nice to you.”  
I returned his glare and stood strong even though his words were really hurting me. I had no idea what set him off to say such things.  
“That’d be true if you were only my guard but you are also one of my suitors, Glen.”  
“It doesn’t seem like that matters anymore considering you’ve already chosen Nathan.”  
“What?” I scoffed and felt very angry. It was just like when John thought Scorch was my boyfriend. “Why is everyone assuming that I’ve chosen someone? I haven’t chosen anyone, Glen!”  
He shook his head and backed off, still glaring at me.  
“With the way you two were just now acting and the things you said to each other, it sure looks like you’ve chosen someone. I just hope you have the decency to choose this country over Derlu.”  
That had crossed a line. Glen was about to walk away again but I grabbed him by the arm and punched him as hard as I could in the cheek.  
“I would never abandon Ero! Ero is my home!” I held the guard’s shirt collar and got close to his face. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again, you bastard. I don’t care if you’re not nice to me but you will show me respect.”  
I shoved him away and then walked off, picking up my shoe in the process. My hand hurt like hell from the punch but it was worth it. As much as I hated being on bad terms with Glen, it needed to happen. I really cared about him but if he truly meant the things he said, then I wanted to cut ties as soon as possible. I wasn’t about to let myself get hurt by him. That meant only two suitors to choose from though… Maybe I’d have to ask for another group.  
I sighed when I went back into the palace and rubbed my knuckles softly. What came over Glen? Was he jealous about seeing Nathan and I hugging? I hoped this didn’t mean that he had the same jealousy issue John did. I didn’t need another suitor to act that way. He didn’t even believe what I said though. I guessed it was common with people like Glen who had their walls up. It was too bad. Just like Nathan had mentioned, Glen was the more attractive one, at least to me, out of the whole group. Plus, I felt like we had connected well over the past few weeks.  
“Hello, m’lady. Ready for lunch?”  
John had just walked out of his office and I briefly saw Nathan who had walked down the hallway.  
“Oh, yeah, that sounds nice.”  
“What have you been up to this morning?”  
He asked while we walked towards the dining room. I shrugged and kept my quickly bruising knuckles out of John’s sight.  
“I spent some time with Nathan. We had a grass fight and I won.”  
I smiled slightly and John laughed a bit.  
“A grass fight, huh? I didn’t know you were going to be spending time with him today.”  
“I didn’t plan on it. We just ran into each other and he wanted to talk about some things.”  
“Like what?”  
John asked suspiciously with an obvious hint of jealousy.  
“Derlu, his home life, wedding rings…”  
I looked away to hide my smirk. I added on that last part to tease and John suddenly stopped walking.  
“What? H-Have you chosen him?”  
His voice was so sad and disappointed and instead of sympathizing, I laughed.  
“Oh my god, John! I’m screwing with you! I haven’t chosen anyone yet, I promise.”  
John gasped and poked my shoulder, making sure it wasn’t the one with my stitches.  
“You’re so mean! I would’ve never done such a thing.”  
“Liar. Everyone teases someone once in their life.”  
We went into the dining room and sat in our usual chairs. John huffed and sat up prestigiously.  
“Not me. Teasing can hurt peoples’ feelings so I refuse to do it.”  
“Yet you’ll rip out someone’s stitches?”  
I smirked and John shot a glare at me and then frowned.  
“You don’t have to keep bringing that up. I’ve already said sorry about a million times.”  
“I know.” I laughed. “Again, I’m just teasing you. I’ll never let you live that down by the way.”  
John rolled his eyes and then we were served our food. Halfway through the meal, I paused.  
“How is the visitation situation going?”  
He swallowed his mouthful of food and then cleared his throat, looking over to me.  
“It’s going well. I believe The Court will let him come see you soon. They wanted to do a trial thing first to make sure he’s safe to be around and that bringing him here is safe.”  
“Really?” I smiled. “That’s great news! I’m so happy to hear that.” I put my hand on top of John’s lightly. “Thank you so much, John. I really appreciate what you’re doing.”  
John looked at my hand and then smiled back.  
“I’m glad to help, Kyra.”  
There was a small pause and I pulled my hand back before speaking again.  
“Oh, before I forget, I wanted to ask you about Nathan. I’ve decided that I definitely won’t choose him and I was wondering if there’s some way we can send him home to Derlu?”  
“Hm. I don’t believe that should be an issue. We just have to set up transportation for him. I’ll bring it up to The Court after we’ve settled the deal with your friend.”  
“I was also wondering,” I spoke slowly “if I could go with him when he goes back? Just to visit for a couple days! It’s my dream to go to Derlu and I also thought that it’d be a good idea for me to meet the ruler of one of our allies?”  
John sighed and shook his head, still smiling though.  
“How did I know that you’d ask something like that?” He took a sip of the water in front of him. “Again, I’ll have to ask The Court. I don’t know how cooperative they’ll be about it though.”  
“Whatever you can do, I’ll appreciate.”  
We finished our food soon after and I stood up, standing beside John.  
“I don’t think I can thank you enough for all the time you’re spending with The Court for my sake.”  
John shrugged.  
“It’s not a big deal. I’ve learned how to make them agree to things so it’s not horrible.” He then gently touched my arm. “I really like this blouse on you. It fits your form perfectly.”  
I laughed a bit awkwardly and pushed my hair behind my ear.  
“Ah, thank you, John. I like it too.”  
He moved slightly closer to me and I wanted to back away but his hand was on my waist. When I looked into his eyes it seemed like he was mentally undressing me so I uncomfortably avoided eye contact.  
“You are extremely beautiful, Kyra. Anyone would be lucky to be chosen by you. I would be lucky to be chosen by you.”  
“Uh, John? If this is your attempt of flirting with me, it’s definitely not working. It’s making me feel weird.”  
Even after telling him that, he still held me tight and I continued to look away from him. He leaned down a bit and I moved my head back each time he moved closer.  
“I heard that the best strategy is to just go for it. So, this is what I’m doing, going for it.”  
“John, every girl is different—”  
My eyes widened in disbelief by what happened next. My tutor had stolen a kiss from me. I had pulled away at once and covered my mouth in shock. John’s face was then hit hard with a slap before I ran out of the room. At that moment, my mental stability collapsed. Everything that I had been bottling up since I came to the palace spilled out and overwhelmed me. I had been kissed before so it wasn’t like I was upset because it was my first or something, but I was upset because John kissed me when I obviously didn’t want it. Adding that on top of Glen’s actions earlier didn’t make me feel better. I suddenly felt alone and when I felt alone the first thought I had was Scorch. I had to see him. Now. I didn’t even plan on what to do or bring anything with me. I just went outside and made my way as far back into the garden until I saw the perimeter wall. It was made from old stone when the palace was first built so it was very easy to climb over. I made it to the top when those damn alarms went off. I quickly made my way down the other side and took off running as soon as my feet hit the ground. 

Data Entry Six  
End


	7. Data Entry Seven

I didn’t make it very far before two strong arms were wrapped around my waist and kept me from running. It was one of the guards. Damn Glen and his perimeter security.  
“Let go of me!”  
I yelled angrily, trying to escape the guard’s hold. It was pointless considering how much stronger he was than me. Once I had settled down and accepted my fate of going back to the palace, the guard released my waist and just held my arm. When I was back inside the wall, Glen was the first person I saw. Of course. The last person I wanted to see was who I saw. He approached me quickly and held my arm carefully, the other guard letting go.  
“Kyra, what in the hell do you think you were doing? You could’ve hurt yourself or even been killed!”  
I just kept my eyes away from his and stayed silent. I felt like I was going to cry but I held back as best as I could. I heard Glen sigh and he talked to one of the guards who was around.  
“Cancel training for the rest of the day. I have other matters to handle.”  
I felt his gaze fall back onto me and I kept my eyes down. He brought me back inside the palace and John was standing in the front room. Like I wasn’t already around enough people that I disliked. Just being in his presence almost made me cry. I closed my eyes to hide the tears that were forming. I believed that Glen saw though.  
“Kyra! Have you lost your mi—”  
“Excuse me, John, but I have her taken care of. Just leave her alone for today.”  
Glen then quickly took me away from John and back to my room. He walked inside and then let go of me. I went over to my bed and sat on it with my knees against my chest, burying my face in a pillow.  
“What did he do to you?”  
I shook my head and muffled my voice into the pillow.  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”  
“Don’t act stupid with me!” Glen suddenly said angrily. He then took a very deep breath to calm himself and stepped over to the side of my bed. “Kyra, there was a bright red handprint on his face. I know John is desperately in love with you and something pushed you over the edge to make you try to run away.”  
Tears leaked out of my eyes so I didn’t move away from the soft pillow in my arms.  
“He kissed me even when I tried pulling away.”  
My answer made the feel of the room become very hostile. Glen tensed and he gave off a vibe of wanting to kill someone.  
“That asshole! How dare he do that to you.” He groaned in frustration and then sighed. He sat on my bed across from me and held his hands out. “Come on. We’re going to play a game to get your mind off him.”  
I looked up slightly and watched him in confusion.  
“Why are you acting nice suddenly? I thought you said you didn’t need to be nice to me.”  
Glen set his hands down in his lap and met his eyes with mine. They were bright and soft again.  
“I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean any of it. I suppose I was just mad because Nathan was getting so close to you. I’m very s—”  
“What do you mean you were mad because Nathan and I were close?”  
“Well,” He cleared his throat and sat up straight “I don’t trust Nathan. He’s basically John’s lapdog and his innocent act doesn’t settle with me very well. I just feel like he’s bad for you to be around. So, when I saw you two together and heard what you were talking about, I felt like I was failing at my job of being your protector and it made me angry. I didn’t mean to take my anger out on you. I’m so sorry about that.”  
I hummed and nodded softly with a shrug.  
“Okay. I suppose that makes sense.” I kicked his leg with my foot lightly. “Next time just tell me.” I then sighed when I saw a bruise that had formed on his cheek. “I’m sorry about punching you.”  
Glen laughed and shook his head.  
“It’s fine. I deserved it and I’ve had worse. Though, you do pack a tough punch. I was quite dazed for a while there.” He paused and then frowned slightly. “Why didn’t you come to me earlier?”  
My eyebrows pinched together curiously.  
“What do you mean?”  
“You forgot?” He sighed. “You promised me that you’d tell me if you needed to get away from the palace. Remember? We made a deal while I was brining you back from the forest.”  
“Oh. I suppose I did forget. I won’t let it happen again, I’m sorry. I was just being too impulsive.”  
Glen nodded and then breathed in deeply.  
“Okay then. Apologies out of the way. Want to play a game now? It might make you feel better and even get out some anger.”  
“Sure. What’s the game?”  
“Well, I don’t know if it has a name, but it’s the one where you try to hit the other person’s hands.”  
“What? Hitting someone is a game? I’ve definitely never heard of it.”  
“Seriously?” Glen laughed lightly. “It’s easy.” He held out his hands with his palms facing up. “Okay so, put your hands on top of mine and I’ll try to flip over my hands and smack yours. You have to try to pull your hands away before I hit them, got it?”  
“Alright,” I rested my hands on his palms “seems simple enough.”  
His amber eyes stared into mine while he waited a moment or two before moving slightly just to make me anxious. I tried pulling my hands away when I felt him jolt but he had already hit both tops of my hands.  
“Wha—That doesn’t count! It was my first time trying.”  
“Alright, fine. We’ll call that a practice round.”  
I put my hands on top of his palms again and kept moving them back even when he didn’t move. I could tell he was holding back a smirk because he was teasing me. Finally, he flipped his hands over and slapped mine again.  
“That was only the tips of my fingers that time!”  
“Still counts.”  
“Seriously? I can’t even have beginner’s luck apparently.”  
He laughed lightly and gestured down to his hands. I sighed and put my hands on top of his once again. Even though I tried my hardest, Glen continued to win every single time until the tops of my hands started becoming pink.  
“Okay, that’s it! I’m never winning if I’m playing against you.”  
“Oh, come on. You’ve only played half the game.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You haven’t even tried to hit my hands yet. Most of the time you switch each time someone wins but you weren’t winning.”  
Glen smirked and I rolled my eyes.  
“You just love rubbing it in, don’t you?”  
He shrugged and held his smug smirk on his face.  
“Maybe. But you could kick ass playing it this way though.”  
He said while putting his hands on top of mine.  
I watched his hands carefully and kept mine as still as possible. I bit down on the inside of my lip and then glanced up to see Glen staring right at me with a small smile.  
“Any day now.”  
“Shut up! If I make you anxious then you’ll never know when I’m going to—“  
I flipped my hands over quickly in an attempt to hit his but he had already pulled them away from me. My jaw dropped and I nudged his shoulder lightly.  
“Dammit! How are you so fast?”  
He laughed lightly at my push and put his hands on his knees with a shrug.  
“I’m a trained soldier. I need to be fast so I can protect people.”  
I rolled my eyes again and pushed a strand of hair out of my face.  
“Alright Mr. ‘Trained Soldier’, tell me this.” I leaned forward and paused for a moment. He moved his head back a bit with a confused look while I tilted my head to the side. “How long have you been playing this game that you got that good at it?”  
He scoffed and smiled again.  
“Fine, you caught me. I’ve been playing it ever since I was a little kid. Happy now?”  
“I knew it! There’s no way just your training would’ve made you so skilled at that kiddy game.”  
“Well it’s helped a bit but having played that game my whole life is definitely why I’m so good at it. My father taught it to me when I was really young and trust me, he did not go easy on me.”  
I smiled with a soft hum.  
“That’s adorable. I bet you’d be able to beat him now though.”  
Glen seemed to tense a bit and become suddenly distant, or lost in his own mind. I looked at him, slightly confused, and spoke carefully.  
“Do you still see your parents?”  
He then blinked a few times and looked up at me with a deep breath.  
“Not very often. It’s difficult for me.”  
“Why? If you don’t mind me asking.”  
“I don’t mind. I suppose you’d find out sooner or later since I’m a suitor now.” He sighed and moved his eyes down to the bed. “Both my parents are dead and graveyards don’t sit well with me.”  
At once I sympathized with him. We were both orphans.  
“Graveyards don’t sit well with me either. I haven’t visited my parents since they were buried. I couldn’t put myself through that…”  
Glen eyes met mine again.  
“Yours are dead as well?”  
I nodded.  
“A few years ago, both of them. My mom was attacked by a gang and my dad died of a broken heart when she passed. What happened to yours?”  
Glen hesitated but I could tell he wanted to tell me. It made me feel glad that he would talk to me about such personal things.  
“My dad was… murdered. He was Captain of the Guard here for a while and for some reason, someone killed him while he was on perimeter duty one night.”  
I couldn’t believe what he had told me. What were the chances of both of us having one of our parents killed? I shook my head slowly and I frowned slightly.  
“That’s horrible. How old were you? And what about your mother?”  
“I was only twelve when he died. He’s the reason I pursued becoming Captain of the Guard, despite my mom’s disapproval. She died a few years ago of old age. Both my parents were on the older side when they adopted me.”  
“You were adopted?’  
Glen nodded and smiled.  
“Yeah. It was probably the best thing to ever happen to me. My mother was one of the first women to serve on The Court and my dad was part of the guards so I got to live my whole life here. Though my mom and I visited the city a lot and traveled the country when my dad was on vacation so it’s not like I was trapped here.”  
I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest.  
“Well that makes one of us.”  
“What? You mean you don’t like being on house arrest here? You actually want to travel and be free?”  
Glen asked in the most sarcastic voice I’ve ever heard. It was hilarious because it was the first time I ever heard him use such a voice. It was the first time he ever joked around with me too.  
“Wow! The tough, walled off soldier has a humorous side! I’m shocked.”  
He rolled his eyes and smiled.  
“Did you really think that I was all serious? I have to be that way to be the best guard possible.”  
“No, no, I knew you had a different personality hiding in there somewhere. I just didn’t think you’d ever open up to me.”  
“I wanted to make sure I could trust you first. I don’t open up to many people anymore.”  
“Trust me?” I gasped with a smile. “I am your ruler! How could you not trust me?”  
“Well, you’re not really the poster child for being royalty.”  
He teased with a smirk. I scoffed and threw my pillow right in his face.  
“You ass!”  
I heard a ‘thump’ when the pillow contacted Glen’s face. The force sent his head back a bit before it dropped into his lap. His amber eyes blinked a few times and he let out a short breath.  
“You hit me.”  
I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laugh. Glen gripped the pillow in his lap and locked his eyes with mine. He looked stunned and in denial, almost like his entire reputation had been shattered.  
“Glen? Are you—“  
A small handful of feathers popped out of the pillow when it collided into my face, causing me to fall back onto the bed with a gasp. Glen’s snicker made my ears twitch and I lifted the pillow off my face.  
“You’re going to pay for that.”  
“Oh? And how exactly is Your Highness going to do that?”  
I tried hitting him with the pillow again but he jumped off the bed before it could touch him. I growled under my breath and grabbed two more pillows from the massive collection on my bed. Glen stood about two feet away from me, slightly bending down. I sat up my knees and the brunette moved away a little. He flinched to the side when I faked to throw the pillow, causing both of us to form dorky smiles on our faces. I smirked and moved to the edge of the bed slowly.  
“You may be best at hand to hand combat but do you think you can beat the pillow fight champ?”  
“Well if I did that, I would only be beating myself.”  
“Oh, you stuck up bastard!”  
I threw another pillow at him and he caught it right in front of his chest. My eyes widened and I dropped off my bed, hiding on the other side. I pressed my back against my bed and propped myself up on one knee.  
“Hm. Good reaction, but horrible defense tactics.” Glen spoke with a snarky edge to his voice and I tried listening for his footsteps. “You’ve positioned yourself in a place with one escape path and two spots I can come to attack. Your odds are definitely not in your favor.”  
It hit me that he was right. I cursed under my breath and desperately tried to think of a plan. My guard stealthily got on top of my bed, planning to get me from overhead. A smile tugged on his lips as he was certain of his victory.  
“Gotcha!”  
He smacked his pillow down but it met with the edge of the bed instead of a human.  
“Two ways of escape, Glen.” I swung my pillow and it hit him from behind, right on the top of his head. “You forget about crawling under the bed.”  
Glen laid still on the bed, facedown and silent. I stepped back cautiously, pillow still in hand, and turned my shoulders to face away from him. He shifted his head so his cheek was pressed against the bed and I heard him mumble quietly.  
“Beaten by untrained royalty.”  
“Untrained?” I scoffed and put my hand on my hip sassily. “I’ve been training in the skills of pillow fighting ever since I could walk. There’s no one who can beat me nowadays.”  
The ego-broken soldier sat up and shook his head like he was trying to get water out of his hair. Strands of his messy brown hair flopped over his eyes when he glanced at me.  
“Okay, fine. You’ve won the title of pro pillow fighter, but did you prepare for…” He slowly got to his feet, making me move back with each step he took “…this?”  
He chucked his pillow at me and it hit my shoulder with enough force to stun me and make me drop the pillow in my hand. I paused for a moment then saw him reaching for another pillow which made me bolt out of my room. I laughed, seeing Glen stumble a little while he chased after me. Just before I turned the corner, the soldier threw his pillow at me again. It barely missed and it hit the wall to the left of me. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I glanced back again to see Glen turn the corner then suddenly stop. My steps faltered when I turned forward again and tried to stop. I slammed right into a red-haired male that I obviously didn’t care to see at the moment.  
“John! I—”  
My body jolted when my arm was firmly grabbed. Glen was standing behind me and he pulled me back step by step while speaking quickly.  
“Sorry John, didn't see you there. Well, we must leave now. Important royal business. Nice talk!”  
John’s face twisted from a look of surprise to confusion and finally jealousy when the brunette pulled me back around the corner. Glen ran down the hallway while I followed behind him, hearing John furiously calling out for us to stop. Glen and I made another turn and disappeared down a staircase and into another room. He put his finger against his lips, keeping the both of us quiet for a few moments. He removed his finger and then spoke in a breathless whisper.  
“I think we lost him.”  
“Definitely.”   
There was a second of silence before we burst into laughter. I lightly punched Glen’s shoulder.  
“Oh my god, Glen! You’re going to get in so much trouble with John! But it was pretty hilarious seeing how pissed off he looked.”  
I smiled widely at seeing the real Glen break through his tough soldier shell. He grinned right back at me, put his hands on his hips, and stood tall.   
“John can’t do anything to me. He doesn't want to anyway. I’m the best guard he’s ever had.”  
He spoke with pride, making me scoff and sarcastically agree. I then quickly glanced over the unknown room.  
“Where are we anyway?”  
“Ballroom. Follow me, there’s a door leading outside that we can go through to stay away from John.”  
I gawked at the massive room, having never seen it before. I followed Glen shortly after getting my fill of the glamourous room and then we were suddenly outside in the warm afternoon air. I sighed and then laughed.  
“This has been an interesting day to say the least.”  
Glen looked at me and smiled a bit.  
“Is that good or bad?”  
“Very good. For the most part. If John wouldn’t have been involved then it would’ve been the most fun I’ve ever had here.”  
“I’m glad to hear that. I hope I can help make every day after today a good one for you.”  
“Thank you, Glen. You’ve really made my day better.”  
I then gasped softly when I suddenly felt his arms around me in a tight hug. I quickly melted into the comforting hold and listened to Glen’s voice.  
“I’ll do whatever I can to make you happy, Kyra. I promise.”

Data Entry Seven  
End


	8. Data Entry Eight

Incoming Message: when can I see you?

  
Outgoing Message: john told me that things are going well. the court wants to have a trial visit first though. they want to make sure you’re safe and that no one will follow your escort back to the palace.

  
Incoming Message: when will the trial visit be?

  
Outgoing Message: im not sure. soon, I suppose. Ill let you know when I know

  
Incoming Message: alright. hopefully my impatient self will be able to handle that

Incoming Message: how have you been holding up? anything you need to catch me up on? you still haven’t told me about that ‘long day’ you had when I broke into the palace

  
Outgoing Message: im doing well. there have been ups and downs but overall, it’s tolerable

Outgoing Message: it’s definitely been better since I was able to get those uncomfortable stitches out

Incoming Message: STITCHES?! stitches for what?!

Outgoing Message: oh, did I not tell you? I guess I lost track of everything that was happening. I was thrown off my horse about a month back and I ripped open my arm a bit when I fell off. it’s no big deal, just a small thing.

Incoming Message: are you kidding me? you forgot to tell me something that important? next thing you’re going to forget to mention is that you chose a suitor

Outgoing Message: ...

Incoming Message: frost I swear to god

 

Outgoing Message: im just screwing with you. I haven’t chosen anyone. it’s honestly the last thing I want to be thinking about

Incoming Message: and why is that?

Outgoing Message: it’s just the suitors. I only have three options now and, at the moment, I despise one of them. of course, it’s the one I have to see every day for tutoring, john

Incoming Message: two questions. 1) what happened to the fourth guy? 2) why do you hate him?

Outgoing Message: 1) he’s in love with someone else so im sending him back home to Derlu 2) I don’t think you want to know

Incoming Message: spill or else im breaking into the palace again

Outgoing Message: god, youre so stubborn.  
Outgoing Message: he kissed me even when I said no

Incoming Message: im going to kill him

Outgoing Message: scorch NO  
Outgoing Message: youre lucky this conversation can’t be read by anyone else or youd be in huge trouble just for saying that

Incoming Message: I don’t care, frost. what he did is unacceptable. please tell me you punched him as hard as you could

Outgoing Message: I only slapped him

Incoming Message: okay, so, im going to knock his ass out the moment I see him

Outgoing Message: you probably shouldn’t do that to the guy who set up your visitation rights and who already doesn’t like you because hes extremely jealous of you

Incoming Message: HA  
Incoming Message: jealous of me? hes never even met me

Outgoing Message: he saw us hug once and it made him jealous

Incoming Message: that is the lamest thing ive ever heard

Outgoing Message: I know, I know, but just try to be nice to him when you visit, okay?

Incoming Message: fine, but only because I kind of have to listen to what royalty says

Outgoing Message: youd listen to me even if I wasn’t royalty. im the smart one out of the two of us

Incoming Message: you got me there. I would’ve never knew how to set up this whole computer thing or give myself amnesty

Outgoing Message: yeah, youre lucky

Incoming Message: anyone is lucky to have you

Outgoing Message: shut up. I get enough of that shit from the suitors

Incoming Message: hey, do you think theyd let us get married? I mean, thatd be so much easier than trying to connect with some stranger

Outgoing Message: youre not royalty or insanely rich so that’s a no.  
Outgoing Message: what makes you think id want to marry you anyways?

Incoming Message: well hey, best friends make the best lovers

Outgoing Message: I wouldn’t be able to see you as my ‘lover’. youre like a brother

Incoming Message: oof. bro-zoned. that hurts, frost. that really hurts

Outgoing Message: ive been bro-zoning you for 23 years, scorch. youll get over it :)

Incoming Message: true, but will you be able to get over the fabulous ME?

Outgoing Message: youre an idiot.

Incoming Message: yet youre the one whos stuck with me

Outgoing Message: someone needed to be there to keep you from making stupid decisions. I wasn’t there to stop you, so you broke into the palace. proof

Incoming Message: good point. all the more reason I need to visit you even sooner. next time I may try to kidnap you

Outgoing Message: you do that and youll get shot and Ill never forgive you

Incoming Message: and to that I say, do your worst!

Outgoing Message: youre lucky youre my best friend.  
Outgoing Message: go to sleep now before you start cooking up other stupid decisions

Incoming Message: fine, fine. try to find out tomorrow when I can visit you, okay? im already anxious enough as it is  
Incoming Message: goodnight frost. scorch out

Outgoing Message: will do. night scorch. frost out

Log Out?  
Yes? No?  
yes  
Logging Out…  
Logged Out  
System Shutting Down

“This isn’t going well.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean that it’s not going the way I planned, Kyra. This is taking a lot longer than expected.”  
“Well, try harder.”  
“Kyra, I’m trying as hard as I can but you just keeping stepping on my feet.”  
Damien held my waist with one hand and with the other was holding my hand. Both of us were looking down at our feet while he tried to teach me to dance. I was undoubtedly horrible at it. Damien was one of the best dancers I had ever met and John thought it’d be a good idea for to learn to dance when there were parties at the palace; which was going to be soon. The rich families along with the families of The Court wanted to meet me for the first time. My teacher laughed quietly and then tilted my head up.  
“Kyra, just relax. Don’t look at your feet because they’ll be covered by your dress anyways. I want you to just move with me, okay?” He then loosely held my waist again and began gracefully stepping across the ballroom floor with me desperately trying to keep up. “Don’t think, just listen to the music.”  
He spoke, closing his eyes with a smile as he continued. It took a long while, and I commend Damien for being patient, but I finally began to dance smoother with him. I stepped along with the music of the grand piano and followed my dance partner’s lead. I could hear him hum quietly to the music and then it suddenly stopped. His eyes were open and energetic.  
“Hey, you’re doing great!”  
“Really?” I smiled and excitedly squeezed his hand. “What a relief! I was worried about embarrassing myself in front of the important people of Ero. Well, everyone is important here but you know what I mean.”  
Damien laughed and nodded his head. “I understand.” He then removed his hand from my waist and spun me in a circle before brining me back close to his body. “You’re going to do wonderfully at the party. Everyone is going to be lining up to dance with you.”  
“I hope not.” I said nervously but still with a smile while we moved with the music. “I think I can only dance with someone I’m comfortable with.”  
The blonde male raised an eyebrow and a smirk tugged at his lips.  
“Oh? So, does that mean you’re comfortable with me?”  
“Why wouldn’t I be?”  
“Mm, I don’t know. But I’m just pleased you’re comfortable with me. Maybe that means… you’ll choose me?”  
“You’re quite bold, Damien.”  
He squeezed my waist lightly and smiled at me.  
“I have to be as a suitor. I heard you already eliminated Nathan.”  
“That’s because he’s not interested in me.”  
“His loss.”  
Damien answered back softly, then kissing my cheek and stopping the dance once the music ended.  
“Thank you for teaching me a bit today. It was very helpful.”  
“Of course. We can dance whenever you’d like, Kyra.”  
We began walking out of the ballroom and I glanced up at Damien.  
“How is your sister, by the way? Healing well, I hope?”  
“Oh, she’s doing wonderfully. When I left home, she was already walking around again. Luckily, her legs weren’t broken but one of her arms is. That’s the only thing still healing besides a couple cuts and bruises.”  
“That’s great to hear. I felt terrible for you when I heard the news. That’s something that no one wants to hear about a family member.”  
Damien sighed quietly but he still seemed happy when I looked at him again.  
“It was very distressing but she was laughing and didn’t seem to be in too much pain when I visited her in the hospital for the first couple days. We all knew it wasn’t going to end badly, thankfully.” He then paused and his voice lifted a bit. “Before I left, she said that she’d really like to meet you. Whether it be when you send me home or on our wedding day. Her words.”  
I giggled lightly and then nodded.  
“She sounds like she gets her boldness from you. I’d love to meet your whole family though. Maybe once your sister is all better, I can visit your home? You did say it was a very nice place.”  
“Oh, it is! I’d love to take you. You might marry me just so you can visit more often.”  
“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised with myself if I did. Having never been outside this city, I’ll probably fall in love with every new area I see.”  
Damien stopped in front of John’s office and I stopped also.  
“Well, I hope that with you being royalty now, you can travel to your heart’s desire.” He glanced back at the door and then smiled at me. “John asked me to have you see him after our lesson. He said it’s about your friend.” He grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss against it. “I hope to see you later, Kyra.”  
“Me too. Have a good day, Damien.”  
I answered while he walked away. I then anxiously knocked on John’s door and entered when he said the word. He was sitting at his desk, reading over papers, and took his glasses off with a friendly smile. We hadn’t talked about the kiss or the slap since it happened and we somehow got back on good terms. I was still weary about him so I stayed standing and asked my question before John could even say hello.  
“Will Scorch be able to visit soon? Has The Court set a date for the trial visit?”  
John cleared his throat and straightened the paperwork scattered across his desk. He then looked at another pile and flipped thru the papers while I stood there impatiently. Finally, he spoke.  
“Next Wednesday at ten o’clock. He’ll stay for three days and then be sent home until The Court makes their final decision. I believe someone just left to deliver the message to your friend.”  
“That’s fantastic news! Thank you, John!”  
I turned to leave but he called out to stop me just when I made it to the door. I glanced back at him, tense for a moment until I saw he was still sitting. No threat of another surprise kiss.  
“Scorch isn’t his real name, is it? I missed it when you told The Court.”  
“No, Scorch isn’t his real name. It’s just what I’ve always called him.”  
“Well, what’s his real name then?”  
I hummed and shrugged with a smile. “I’ll let him tell you once you met him. Enjoy the suspense. Ciao!” I then slipped out of John’s office, catching a frustrated glare from him before closing the door.  
I had to tell Scorch about the good news right away. I rushed up to my room, locked my door, grabbed my laptop, and hid in the bathroom with the door also locked.

Username: Kyra Winter  
Password: ********  
Credentials Confirmed  
Welcome Back, Frost

>Messages Sent at 10:46<

Outgoing Message: scorch! I wanted to give you the good news myself. your visitation rights have been approved for the trial period! you’ll be coming out next week and staying for a whole three days!  
Outgoing Message: you must be on your absolute best behavior when you visit because they’re going to be evaluating your visit. I don’t want you screwing this up  
…

>Messages Received at 11:28<

 

Incoming Message: really?! oh my god oh my god I get to see you soon? for real? no more sneaking out or breaking in?  
Outgoing Message: yes, it’s for real! we can see each so much more and worry free!  
Outgoing: you’re supposed to be here next Wednesday at 10am sharp. someone from the palace here will be picking you up. wear your chef’s uniform but without the apron. it looks very fancy plus, all black looks good on you

Incoming Message: I’ll wear that outfit all the time if you like it. I’ll wear it to breakfast, our wedding, lunch, meeting those suitors who are trying to steal you away from me, dinner, and even to bed

Outgoing Message: if only you could’ve seen how far my eyes rolled when I read that

Incoming Message: it’s only the truth

Outgoing Message: you need to have a serious talk with your brain to convince it that you’re not marrying me

Incoming Message: past interventions with him have not gone well

Outgoing Message: I can tell.  
Outgoing Message: it’s going to be interesting watching you at my wedding (if I ever let it happen)

Incoming Message: my eyes will be watching you walk down the aisle towards me at the alter

Outgoing Message: you never give up, do you?

Incoming Message: nope. why do you think I broke into the palace?

Outgoing Message: good point  
Outgoing Message: now, some ground rules for when you visit

Incoming Message: boring!

Outgoing Message: too bad. shut up and listen  
Outgoing Message: absolutely no violent acts towards the man who kissed me. be kind to ALL the suitors. no mentioning the conversations we have on here or that I even have a laptop. no staying in my room, stay in your own room. and finally, no stupid decisions!

Incoming Message: I don’t like any of those rules

Outgoing Message: scorch

Incoming Message: okay fine, I can deal with most of them  
Incoming Message: why cant we stay in the same room? we’ve done that all our lives

Outgoing Message: this isn’t our apartment, scorch. there’s no privacy and rumors would fly if someone saw you leave my room every morning. it’d get back to the court and they’d see you as a threat to my marriage. then I’d probably never see you again. good enough reason?

Incoming Message: …  
Incoming Message: fine.

Outgoing Message: good. I have to go now but we’ll talk tonight.  
Outgoing Message: frost out

Incoming Message: talk to you tonight

Log Out?  
Yes? No?  
yes  
Logging Out…  
Logged Out  
System Shutting Down

The time leading up to Scorch’s first visit was exhaustingly long. I could barely focus on any one thing for too long which annoyed John to the point that he shortened the amount of time he would tutor me during those days. I stood anxiously at the front door the day of Scorch’s visit. My suitors, Sebastian, and a few extra guards were there with me to greet him. When the doors opened, the escorts made sure to check over him once more before letting him into the palace. My view of him was finally clear and I smiled brightly. Scorch looked absolutely dashing; perfect for a first impression. Like I had told him to do, he was wearing his chef’s uniform which consisted of solid black pants and a nice button up of the same color. Despite wearing all black, his appearance was bright. His amber eyes glimmered excitedly and the way he smiled when he saw me could have been bright enough to be a ray of sunlight.  
“Kyra!”  
Scorch quickly approached me and squeezed all the breath out of me with his signature bear hug. I hugged him back as tight as I could and we both hesitated to let go even though we had hugged for much too long.  
“I missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re here and I’m so excited to show you around.” I glanced back at the others and grabbed Scorch’s hand. “Here, let me introduce you to the five most important people here.” I started with Nathan. “This is Nathan Bruder. He lives in Derlu and if The Court allows me, I’m going to visit there when he goes back home.”  
“What? Only if I get to come along!” Scorch smiled when he shook Nathan’s hand and his comment ushered a laugh from both of them.  
“Damien Hunt. Pleasure to meet you.” The blonde said confidently, holding his hand out to Scorch. “I’m going to be Kyra’s choice husband.” He added on. He was smiling but I could easily tell he was jealous and threatened by Scorch.  
“Oh, we’ll see about that.” Scorch said right back with a smile, both throwing each other glares before I moved on.  
“My tutor, John Mason. He’s the one you have to thank for arranging your visit here.”  
Scorch tensed up a little bit. I could tell that he didn’t want to be near John or even have anything to do with him. I nudged Scorch’s arm subtly and he pulled out a fake smile.  
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Mason.”  
“And you too.”  
I rolled my eyes at their exchange. They both had the threatened alpha male expression on their faces hidden by their smiles. It made the whole situation feel heavy and awkward so I quickly brought Scorch away.  
“You may already know but, this is my Captain of the Guard, Glen Aiken.”  
Scorch stared at him for a moment and then gladly shook his hand. “Thank you for protecting her. If I could, I would take up your job as well.” He paused and then laughed lightly. “We could always switch jobs now and then considering that we do look quite a bit alike. How’s your cooking skills?”  
Glen smiled and shrugged his shoulders up slightly. “They’re not five-star restaurant quality but they’re not terrible either.” He glanced over to me and then back to my friend. “Well, you could join the guards here. All you have to do is get approval from The Court and then I’ll train you.”  
Scorch immediately turned to me with wide, energetic eyes. “Kyra, ca—”  
“Absolutely not.” I cut him off by covering his mouth with my hand and then laughed. “I’m not letting you be a guard. You must guard all Ero, not just me and I know you couldn’t do that. You just keep guarding the people here against empty bellies, okay?”  
He sighed and nodded.  
“Fine, but only because you told me to and you always seem to be right.”  
“I am always right.” I looked at him and then brought him to the side once more. “And last but definitely not least, Sebastian Dae. My personal butler and close friend.”  
Sebastian bowed his head down respectfully and then shook hands with Scorch. “I have heard much of milady’s best friend. I am very pleased to see you two so happily reunited.”  
“As am I. I’ve thought of her every day since she left. I’m not used to being without her.” Scorch chuckled quietly and smiled at me. “I hope it’s okay if I say that I’m hungry?” He asked in the politest voice I ever heard from him.  
I nodded and looked over to John.  
“I’m going to eat with him and then show him around a bit. We can all meet for dinner, if you think that’d be nice?”  
John raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“Sure. Take Glen with you though. I, and The Royal Court, would not like you to be alone with your friend for the time being.”  
He answered in the most displeased and annoying tone. I huffed and rolled my eyes.  
“I’m not a child and he’s only been my best friend all my life but fine. Whatever makes The Court happy. See you at dinner.”  
I hooked my arm over Scorch’s and sighed, letting go of how irritating John was.  
“I see why you don’t like him much.”  
Scorch said quietly, still smiling at me to lighten my mood. I giggled and nodded.  
“And he doesn’t even get the hint.” I shook my head and then saw Glen besides me. I cleared my throat and looked at them. “I hope that you don’t think badly of my friend anymore, Glen. He’s not a criminal. He’s just stupid.”  
I laughed and the guard smiled.  
“No, I don’t think badly of him. This meeting has been much better than the previous. I’m still cautious considering you told me that he would try and kidnap you.”  
“What? You told him about that? Well, there goes my plan.”  
Scorch said playfully.  
The three of us ate a nice breakfast together and I was glad to see the two men get along. Afterwards, I took my time showing him around the palace, finally happy and at ease to have my best friend there with me.

Data Entry Eight  
End


	9. Data Entry Nine

“His name is Rem.” I told him, seeing Scorch petting his neck slowly. “He’s the troublemaker who caused me to rip open my arm.”  
Scorch looked at the horse and shook his head.  
“How could you do that to the princess? Someone needs to teach you some manners.”  
I hummed and looked over to Glen who was feeding an apple to his own horse. I stepped besides him and smiled a little.  
“Would you be nice enough to let us go on a ride?”  
He glanced at me with a raised eyebrow and rolled his eyes slightly.  
“How did I know that you were going to ask that?” Glen sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll let you two go out but I’m coming too. I’ll stay a little further back so you guys can talk but I’m going whether you like it or not.”  
“Oh, thank you Glen!”  
I said excitedly before hugging him tightly. I could feel that he had on full gear and hoped that one day he wouldn’t have to wear it just because Scorch was there. He hugged me back softly and then glanced to Scorch.  
“If he does anything to you, just shout and I’ll be there.”  
“I’ll be fine, Glen, but thank you.”  
I stepped away and went up to Scorch with a bright smile.  
“Come on, help me get the tack. We’re going to go for a ride.”  
Scorch nodded and glanced back to the soldier as we began to walk towards the storage room, quieting his voice.  
“Is he coming with us?”  
“Yes, but he’s going to stay behind us a bit so we can talk.” I heard him slightly huff and when I looked at him, he had a disapproving expression. “What’s with that face?”  
“I just… I want us to be alone. No supervision.”  
“It’ll be that way one day. Just be patient, okay?”  
Scorch suddenly stopped walking and grabbed my shoulders to turn me towards him. When I looked to the side, I saw Glen reaching for his gun and I shook my head at him slightly so he’d let his guard down.  
“I don’t want to be patient. Every day that passes, I lose you more.”  
“What do you mean?  
“Every day that you’re here, you’re getting wooed by all these guys and becoming more focused on your work here. It’s making you distant and more of the princess instead of my friend.”  
“Well what did you think was going to happen? But you’re no less my friend than you were before I came here. You’re irreplaceable, Scorch.”  
His amber eyes looked down and he sighed, his hands sliding off my shoulders.  
“Okay… Don’t forget that please. I can’t lose you.”  
I chuckled softly and teased his hair.  
“Stop being so worried. You’re not going to lose me. I mean, look at the lengths I went to bring you here. I even tried running away once to see you.”  
“You did? When? And what happened?”  
“It was a little while after you broke into the palace. And Glen happened so I didn’t get very far.”  
Scorch huffed.  
“I’m beginning to think he does his job a little too well.”  
I laughed and pulled him back into the storage room.  
“He keeps me safe so you can’t be mad about that.” I picked up Rem’s saddle and gestured towards another saddle. “Take that one.” I paused and handed him a bridle as well. “Your horse is the tan one on the left side. Her name is Urva.”  
“Um, can’t I ride with you? I’ve never ridden a horse before.”  
“I know you haven’t and no, you can’t ride with me. If you’re going to be visiting with me, you’re going to eventually have to learn how to ride a horse.” I paused and smirked. “Unless you want me to go without you?”  
“No!” He immediately answered. “I’ll go with you.”  
“That’s what I thought. Come on now.”  
Once all three of us were ready, we took the path that my trainer usually took me. I had wanted to go to the place Glen and I went but I thought it would be inconsiderate to take Scorch to a place that was special to Glen and me.  
“She’s going to kick you off if you keep yanking on the reins to slow her down.” I laughed at Scorch’s terrified face and walked Rem next to Urva. “She’s a calm horse, you don’t need to be so tense.”  
“She is not calm! She keeps wanting to run!”  
“She’s not trying to run. She’s just moving her head around.” I reached over and grabbed Scorch’s hands, loosening them from the reins. “Keep them here. If she does run, don’t yank her. Just slowly pull back and try to not freak out.”  
“How do I not freak out when this massive animal is sprinting with me on her back?”  
I rolled my eyes and sighed as I sat back comfortably in my saddle.  
“I almost want you to fall off so you’ll realize it’s not as bad as you think.”  
Scorch shook his head and glanced back to Glen who was behind us a bit. He looked forward again and spoke softly.  
“Things have been so different since you left. I’ve never been lonely in my life before. Now it feels that way all the time.”  
“I know. I feel the same. Having you visit here is the most I can do right now though. If I could visit you out in the city, I’d be going almost every day. I miss having a normal life.”  
“What’s it like here? Be honest with me. Even if you say you like it, I won’t mind.”  
I hummed and ran my fingers through my hair.  
“It is nice, really nice. The palace is beautiful and the people I’ve become close to are great people. The food is amazing here too. Not as good as yours though.” I laughed softly. “Also, my bed is super comfortable so that’s a pro…” I paused and then sighed. “But I miss you. I miss having a normal life. I can’t go places without first asking for approval, I’m being forced to pick someone to marry, and sometimes I can’t even wear what I want to. All these rules are suffocating.”  
Scorch’s eyes met mine and he shook his head disapprovingly.  
“I wish I could take you away from here. We could go to Derlu and start a new life. Well, not totally new because we’d probably work in the restaurants again and live together. So basically, we’d just have a change of scenery.”  
“I would’ve liked to do that. Things here would be better if I could just travel a little. It’s the one thing I want to do in my life. I don’t want to be stuck in the same city for the rest of my days. I’m not going to let my parents’ dream die.”  
“I know you’ll travel eventually. Your stubbornness will get you to Derlu.”  
“You say that as if my stubbornness is a bad thing.” We smiled at each other and then I nodded my head to him. “Come on. You’re going to push your limits on Urva.”  
“What? Kyra, no way!”  
Before he could even finish his sentence, I had slapped the mare’s behind and she took off. I kicked Rem and I followed next to Scorch while he leaned down and was holding on tightly to the reins. I glanced back to make sure Glen was following us and continued to ride a bit faster even though Scorch was freaking out.  
“Sit up and it won’t be as scary!”  
I called out to him. He shook his head quickly and held tighter to his horse’s mane and reins.  
“Scorch sit up! Trust me!”  
I laughed lightly and watched as he slowly and hesitantly sat up in his saddle. The fear slowly melted away and he smiled slightly once he was comfortable.  
“This... This is pretty cool!”  
“I told you so.”  
After a few minutes of riding, we slowed our horses down to give them a break.  
“You did pretty well for your first-time riding.”  
“Yeah, no thanks to you almost killing me.”  
I laughed and looked over my shoulder to see Glen just catching up. He watched us intently and his gaze made Scorch turn around to look at him as well. He looked forward again and I saw his mouth form a relaxed smile.  
“I like him. He seems to be the best to protect you. It’s a relief to me.”  
“He is very good at what he does. The night you broke in, he made it to me before I could even leave my room. I still don’t know how he got there so fast.” I breathed in the fresh air around us and let Rem’s reins rest on his neck while he walked. “Plus, he’s actually very sweet underneath his tough soldier shell. The day I tried running away, he brought me back and we ended up having a pillow fight all over the palace.”  
Scorch gasped and then chuckled.  
“He dared to take on the Pillow Fight Master?”  
“I told him that he was going to lose but he didn’t listen to me.”  
I shrugged with a small laugh. He paused for a moment and then breathed in deeply.  
“I’d be okay if you married him. I know he’ll be good to you.”  
“I’m not marrying anyone, Scorch so you don’t need to act like you’re okay with it.”  
Scorch let out a huge sigh and pat his chest with his hand.  
“Oh, thank god. It was really hard to say that.”  
When we arrived back to the stables, there was another guard waiting there. His face was pale white and he looked anxious. Suddenly there was a sound of pounding hooves and Glen rushes to the guard, basically flying out of his saddle to talk to him. I see them exchange words and Glen’s face turned the same white as his soldier. I quickly dismounted Rem and went up to him.  
“Glen what’s wr—”  
“I can’t talk right now, I’ll explain later.” He said as he began to hustle away. “Protect her with your life!” He shouted roughly to the guard before turning and bursting into a full sprint towards the front of the palace.  
I turned to the guard who had his eyes suspiciously on Scorch.  
“What’s going on? Is it an intruder?”  
The guard shook his head, glancing from side to side and then finally to my worried eyes.  
“No. Someone tried to break in but they were unsuccessful. They shot one of the perimeter guards though. He’s in critical condition.”  
I gasped softly and went over to Scorch who had just clumsily jumped off his horse.  
“Come on. Bring the horses into the stables and then we must go inside. John is probably worried about where we are.”  
We left the horses in the stables and quickly went inside. The guard followed us and once we went through the door, people were running all over the halls. I saw a woman with an armful of bloody bandages and clothes disappear into a room and another woman come out with clean cloths. I heard Scorch mumble a soft ‘Oh god’ under his breath and he grabbed my hand.  
“Let’s… Let’s wait in the library.” I told him gently. “It’s close to the doctor.”  
While we walked, I couldn’t help but hope Glen was okay. He cared so much about each one of his men, it must be difficult to see one fighting for his life. We sat in the library and Scorch protectively held me close.  
“Hey, don’t be too worried, okay? Everything is going to be fine.”  
He tried to reassure me but his words barely stuck in my mind. I shook my head and spoke quietly.  
“But everything isn’t fine. I wasn’t going to mention this but, this is the fourth time someone has tried to break in this month. It’s only getting worse and no one knows why. Everyone keeps telling me that it’s just drunkards who don’t like the royal families but I know it’s a lie. This is someone who’s trying to finish off all the royals in Ero. It honestly scares me…” I sighed. “I just want to go back to a normal life where I’m not afraid of being killed in my sleep.”  
Scorch stayed silent and simply held me tighter. A few hours passed by and Scorch, the guard, and I all stood up when the library door opened. John stepped through with a grim expression and sighed.  
“The doctor did everything he could but couldn’t save him.”  
I looked down at the ground and quickly approached John.  
“Where’s Glen? Is he okay?”  
“He’s alright. I saw him walking towards his room, I believe.”  
I ran out of the room to catch up with the soldier. I couldn’t let him be alone right now. I finally found him and gently touched his arm to stop him.  
“Glen, please wait.”  
Before I could speak another word, I was suddenly embraced by him. He held me with a tight desperation and buried his face against my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and stayed quiet, feeling that he didn’t to talk just yet. I had never seen him like this and it was as if he was a different person. His body was shaking slightly, probably from trying to hold back tears and emotions. After a few moments of close embrace, Glen finally broke away and breathed in deeply.  
“Sorry. I just really needed that.”  
When I got a good look at him, I saw that he had dried blood on his hands and shirt. I gazed at him worriedly and then brushed stray hair of his back into its spot.  
“Don’t be sorry. Are you alright? Is there anything at all I can do for you? And I really do mean anything.”  
Glen shook his head and rubbed his temples.  
“I’m not okay in the slightest, Kyra. Alex was one of the youngest men I had and the look on his face when he knew he was dying has scarred me for life. I feel like it’s my fault…”  
“Why would you say that? It’s not your fault at all. You’re only one person, Glen. You can’t protect everyone at all times.” Glen lowered his head and sighed. I gently touched his arm and did my best to make him meet my eyes. “What happened doesn’t make you a bad guard.”  
He looked back up at me and nodded. I could tell thoughts were running through his mind and he was tense from holding back tears. I brought him to dinner with John, Scorch, and myself. He was silent most of the time and it was hard for me to not comfort him during then. Afterwards, John wished us a good night and the three of us walked upstairs to the rooms. Glen stopped at Scorch’s door and I hugged my friend.  
“Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”  
He gently touched my hand and nodded with a small smile.  
“See you in the morning.”  
I turned to Glen and he hummed before speaking.  
“I’m going to stay with you tonight if you don’t mind. I’ll sit in a chair or something. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”  
I nodded in agreement and Scorch put his hand on my shoulder.  
“Can I come as well?”  
Glen narrowed his eyes at him and frowned.  
“Absolutely not.”  
Scorch huffed and I looked at him, speaking quickly.  
“Just stay here tonight, okay? Don’t make a fuss.”  
“Well how come he gets to stay with you and I don’t?”  
“Because I said so.” Glen answered roughly. “And honestly, I don’t trust you quite yet. All I know, you could’ve been the one who ordered someone to attack the perimeter.”  
My eyes widened at his dark comment. Scorch pushed me out of the way and the two men stepped closer to each other.  
“Are you saying that I’m a terrorist?”  
“You’re not exactly denying that you are.”  
“I’m not a terrorist! I would never hurt Kyra.”  
“Maybe you wouldn’t hurt Kyra but you’d have no problem hurting those who keep her from you, huh?”  
I saw Scorch raise his fist to throw a punch so I shoved him out of way as hard as possible. I grabbed him by the shirt collar and glared at him angrily.  
“Don’t you dare fuck up your visitation by knocking out a guard. Now get in your and we’ll talk about this tomorrow.” I let him go and turned to Glen with the same glare. “And you, go wait for me in my room.”  
I crossed my arms over my chest while I watched him begin walking down the hall.  
“You should’ve let me punch him.”  
Scorch mumbled. I hit him in the shoulder and huffed.  
“Shut up. He didn’t mean what he said. He’s just looking for someone to blame because of what happened. I swear to god though Scorch, if you two ever get in a fight, I’m kicking you out no matter who started it.”  
“What? That’s total bullshit! Why are you taking his side?”  
“Because I have to, Scorch! Don’t understand that I can’t live the way you’re used to me living? I’m not the same Kyra anymore. I’ve had to change my priorities and having the captain of the guard getting distracted because of you isn’t helpful to anyone.” I sighed and calmed down a bit. “Please, just listen to what Glen and I tell you to do, okay? It’ll keep you out of trouble and have you visiting here more often.” I leaned up and gently kissed his cheek. “Try to get some sleep now. I’ll see you in the morning.”  
He simply nodded and gave me a quick hug before letting me walk away. When I went into my room, Glen was pacing anxiously in front of the door.  
“Kyra, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think before I spoke.”  
“Hush. I already know that.” I pulled off the coat I was wearing and tossed it over the dresser. “You’ve a hard day so I understand. I was the same way when my mother was murdered. You can relax now though, alright? It’s just me.”  
I pulled him over towards my bed and we sat on the edge. I watched his face closely and he closed his eyes.  
“I can’t relax, Kyra. I’m supposed to be protecting you.”  
I sat up with a frown and shook my head.  
“No.” Glen looked up at me with a confusion expression. I breathed in and spoke again. “No. You’re not protecting me tonight. I’m giving you the night off. Tonight, I will protect you.”  
The guard scoffed with a quick smile and he tilted his head to the side.  
“Really now?”  
“Yes, really.” I stood up and grabbed my pajamas, walking towards the bathroom. “Get comfortable, please. I’ll be right out.”  
After a few minutes, I walked back out to see Glen sitting in a chair with his gear in a neat pile on the floor besides him. He was wearing the same thing he had when we were in the forest for the first time; a white button up shirt and black pants. I sat on the bed and patted the spot next to me.  
“Come on.”  
“You want me to get into the bed with you?”  
He asked with a raised eyebrow.  
“It’s a big bed, Glen.”  
He shrugged and sighed lightly, walking around to the other side and sitting on top of the sheets. I glanced over him and scoot closer. I put my hand on his head and pulled him down to rest on my shoulder.  
“Kyra…”  
He tried to pull away and I just held him down with a smile on my face.  
“Shut up. I know you’re sad and my motherly instincts are kicking in. Just relax.”  
I felt Glen slightly shake his head but he eventually became comfortable. After a while the soldier was fast asleep in my arms. To my dismay, I didn’t have the ‘tough’ captain of the guard in my hold but instead a gentle man by the name of Glen Aiken.

Data Entry Nine  
End


	10. Data Entry Ten

When I woke up the next morning, the spot next to me was empty and the sheets were folded neatly over my body. Hazy memories filled my head. I couldn’t decipher if the kiss on my forehead was a dream or reality. I was too sleepy at the moment to decide. Once I had finally pulled myself out of bed and dressed myself, I walked downstairs to find Scorch wandering up and down the hallway in front of the dining room.  
“What are you doing?”  
Scorch turned around at the sound of my voice and sighed in relief.  
“Oh, thank god you’re here. That asshole John is the only one in that room and I can guarantee that the two of us being alone won’t be a good mix.”  
I laughed and shrugged my shoulders up.  
“You’re probably right. I can’t believe you were smart enough to wait for me though instead of going in there and starting a fight.”  
“Well you did tell me to be on my best behavior.” He paused and looked at the ground. “You’re not mad at me about last night, right?”  
“I’m not mad, Scorch. You of all people should know when I’m not mad. Just try to get along with Glen in the future, okay? He told me he was sorry, by the way.”  
“He doesn’t have to say sorry. I understand what he was going through. I shouldn’t have been so pushy. He doesn’t deal with pushy people very well, huh?”  
I shook my head to answer and then stepped forward to go eat breakfast. Scorch suddenly tensed up and held me back, tilting my head from side to side and looking over my face very carefully.  
“What in the hell are you doing, you idiot?”  
“Checking for hickeys. I just remembered that Glen stayed the night with you.”  
I quickly slapped his hands away but couldn’t help laughing a bit.  
“Oh my god stop it! You’re so ridiculous. Glen wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave marks even if we were together. Which we’re not.”  
“Okay, okay. Gosh.”  
We both laughed and then went into the dining room where John sat. He greeted me with a soft ‘Good morning’ and sweet smile. For Scorch, he didn’t even acknowledge that he was there. I rolled my eyes and nudged John a little when I walked passed him. He sighed and sat up straight, not taking his eyes off the paperwork he had on the table.  
“Good morning, ‘Scorch’.”  
“Only Kyra calls me that.”  
He responded with a small glare when he sat down. I huffed quietly and kicked him under the table.  
“So, John, how have things been? Smooth sailing, I hope.”  
“Mostly, yes. The Royal Court has been trying to figure out who attacked us yesterday. It’s been hopeless so far but I’m certain we’ll figure it out soon.”  
“I hope you do. Thinking about someone successfully breaking in is quite scary.”  
I sighed and Scorch gently put his hand on mine. I looked up into his soft amber eyes and smiled at his expression. It was one of those ‘I’m scared too but I’ll be tough for you’ looks. John cleared his throat and looked between the two of us with a raised, judgmental eyebrow.  
“I can’t believe I’m even saying this but, The Royal Court doesn’t want you staying at the palace for a few days. Until we get the perimeter stronger and install more security cameras, they want you somewhere people won’t expect you to be.”  
My eyes lit up and both Scorch and I leaned forward excitedly.  
“Really?” I asked in disbelief. “Where will I be staying then?”  
John sighed, his eyes going to my friend and then back to me.  
“They said you can stay with Scorch one night since he’ll be needing to go home as well and then Damien offered up his home for you to stay at.”  
“Yes!” Both I and Scorch cheered, then quickly looking at each other and speaking at the same time again. “Pillow fight brawl!”  
John pinched the bridge of his nose from under his glasses and sighed.  
“You two are so childish… Anyways, you’ll be leaving tomorrow morning and, just as normal, there will be a guard accompanying you with Scorch. Then, once you go with Damien, the guard will return to the palace.”  
Scorch huffed and crossed his arm over his chest.  
“Seriously? I have to get supervision to be with my best friend but no one will be protecting Kyra from that overconfident, touchy, rich boy?”  
“Scorch—”  
“Damien,” John interrupted me coldly, “has had a full background check by The Royal Court and his family were close with the Malkins. He’s simply more trusted than you.”  
Scorch was about to retaliate but I grabbed both men’s hands and spoke quickly.  
“Can you two calm down, please? I would love it if the three of us could have a civil breakfast without the both of you at the other’s throat.”  
Both men looked down and stayed silent for a few minutes. Thankfully, we were able to have the peaceful breakfast I desired and John and Scorch even spoke with each other maturely. I excused myself from the table once I was done and Scorch stood as well. I walked out of the room before I could catch the remark he made to my tutor.  
“You know, John, maybe Kyra would like you more if you treated me better.”  
I glanced behind me to see that Scorch wasn’t there and was about to open the door when he came out.   
“Did John say something to you?”  
“Ha, no. He just looked down at his paperwork.” Scorch smiled and out his arm over my shoulders. “So, you excited about getting to stay a night with me again? It’ll be just like old times.”  
“Yeah except you forgot about the guard that has to watch over me.”  
“Ugh. Third wheel.” Scorch groaned and walked close to me. “What are our plans for today? Anything interesting or are you going to make me do something terrifying again like ride a horse?”  
“Riding horses isn’t terrifying. You’re just a wimp.” I replied teasingly. “But, I was actually going to spend some time with Damien before I go meet his family. I honestly don’t know that much about him and I don’t want there to be any awkward silences while I’m with him.”  
“Seriously? You’re ditching me for that guy?”  
“Oh, grow up! I’m not ditching you. I’ll be spending the whole day and night with you tomorrow.”  
“Fine, fine. Just don’t let him sweep you away forever, got it?”  
“I doubt he’d sweep me away instantly. Even he knows he has to play the wooing game a little bit.”  
Once I had set Scorch up with something to keep himself entertained all day, I wandered around the palace until I was able to run into Damien. Of course, I had found him in the ballroom dancing by himself to music playing from speakers he had. He was wearing a slimming shirt and tight pants that still allowed him to move with ease. I stepped to the side and watched him step gracefully across the room. Never in my life had I seen such smooth, beautiful dancing that exhibited Damien’s personality and passion. I was able to watch him for a few minutes until he finally caught me staring at him. He quickly stopped and turned off his music, coming up to me a bit out of breath.  
“Kyra, I didn’t see you there. What are you doing in here?”  
“ I wanted to see if you were interested in spending the day with me and then I saw you dancing and stopped to watch.” I smiled and tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. “You look really good in that tight shirt too.”  
Damien smirked and put his hand on his hip.  
“Oh really? I’ll wear it more often then.” We both chuckled and then Damien brushed his hair back. “So, have you finally come to your senses and decided to choose me?”  
I laughed again and hummed.  
“No, you still have to prove yourself to me. But since we’re going to be spending some time together, I wanted us to bond more.”  
“Well then let the bonding begin so we can get married sooner.”  
I shook my head and couldn’t help but laugh once again.  
“Sometimes I don’t know if you’re confident or just cocky.”  
Damien grabbed my hand and kissed the top of it.  
“A healthy mix of both, m’lady. If you’ll excuse me for just a few minutes, I’d like to shower before we spend the rest of the day together.”  
I nodded and with that, Damien quickly left the room. I went back up to my room and, of course, Scorch ‘just happened’ to run into me. Luckily, I was able to put him to use.  
“Red or white?”  
I asked, holding up two dresses in front of my body.  
“Neither.”  
Scorch responded with a smile. I huffed and rolled my eyes.  
“C’mon. Don’t be that way just because this is for Damien and not you. Alright, imagine that I was wearing this for a day we were spending together. Which one would you prefer to see me in?”  
“Fine. Red, I guess.”  
“White it is then.”  
“What? But I said red!”  
I chuckled and took the white dress off the hanger after putting the red one away.  
“Yeah, I know. You said red because it’s the one you think is less attractive and you don’t want anyone to see me look good. Tell me I’m wrong.”  
Scorch stayed silent and stared at me for moment. He then huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“I hate you.”  
“Ha-ha! I knew it!”  
I then took the dress into the bathroom and changed away from Scorch’s gaze. I put my hair up in a messy bun with a few strands hanging down and marveled at the beautiful dress. It was one of the few I had liked. It was lightweight, flowy, and looked like a dress a goddess would wear. I walked out of the bathroom and just heard a groan from Scorch as he fell back onto the bed.  
“What?”  
I asked as I slipped on flats and headed towards the door.  
“It’s just..” He huffed as he got off the bed and walked out into the hallway with me, “you look great and I know Damien is going to try to marry you the second he sees you.”  
“I’d be down on one knee right now if I was the one who made the decision to marry her.”   
I turned around to see Damien standing behind me with a small smile. His eyes glanced over me quickly which made his smile grow a bit more.  
“You’ll kill me with your flattery, Damien.”  
Scorch stepped besides me with his arms still crossed over his chest.  
“Oh please. If anything, you’ll kill him with your looks.” Scorch looked up at Damien and sighed quietly. “You know, Kyra likes me a lot. For her to be spending time with you instead of me must mean she likes you very much as well.”  
“Scorch!” I laughed nervously and shoved him away. “Go away and find something to do!”  
“Seriously? If I can’t be a suitor and I can’t be your wingman, then what can I be?”  
“Just go!”  
I laughed again, brushing my hair behind my ear as Scorch walked away. Damien smiled brightly and held out his arm to me.  
“Shall we go?”  
I nodded and put my arm over his loosely.  
“What are we doing?”  
“It’s a surprise, if you don’t mind.”  
I smiled and leaned a bit closer to him.  
“I don’t mind at all. I’m not overdressed, right?”  
“No, no. You’re dressed perfectly.”  
Damien took me out the front doors of the palace and I looked up at him excitedly.  
“Are we leaving the palace?” He just smiled and nodded slowly. I jumped a little and enthusiastically squeezed his arm. “Oh my god! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”   
He opened the door to the car for me and allowed me to get in first and move my dress before he sat beside me. Once we were situated, the car began driving and I leaned into Damien’s shoulder a little.  
“I can’t believe you were able to do this for me on such short notice. This is the first time I’ve been out of the palace since I first arrived there.”  
Damien and slyly snuck his arm around my waist to pull me closer.  
“It was easy considering The Court doesn’t want you around the palace until there’s better security. You’re just lucky I was smart enough to use that as leverage to get you out.”  
I smiled and relaxed into his hold, looking out the windows to watch as the trees dissipated and the city I grew up in began to build up. By the time we approached my hometown, it was early evening. We were nearly in the heart of the city when the car finally stopped. Damien got out first and then held his hand out to me. It was the first time I had been out in public as the new princess so I was a bit nervous and hesitated to take his hand. He leaned into the car and spoke softly to me.  
“No one knows your face yet, Kyra. You’re going to be fine and I’ll be here with you.”  
He then boldly kissed my cheek and grabbed my hand, slowly pulling me from the car. When I stepped out, my heart beat quickly in my chest. I was in the city again. I was out of the palace and back where I felt truly at home. Damien squeezed my hand and I brought my attention back to him.  
“Come now. We only have so much time before I have to return you.”  
I nodded and Damien walked hand in hand with me down the sidewalk. I stopped for a moment and tugged on his hand.  
“Hey, see that restaurant across the street there? That’s the one I used to work at and it’s also where Scorch works. Remind me that one day you must try his food. He’s truly worthy of a five-star restaurant.”  
“Really? How long has he been working there?”  
“Hm, about three years, I believe. I put in a good word for him to get the job there.”  
“I may have had his food then. My sister and I used to eat there every month when we came here for a special event we’d go to.”  
I gasped softly and laughed.  
“Hey, then maybe you’ve also seen me before! It’s funny to think that I may have waitressed your table.”  
Damien scoffed and then gently pulled me to keep walking.  
“No way. I would’ve noticed a beauty like yourself.”  
I smiled and shook my head, glancing up at him.  
“You know what I don’t understand, Damien? Why you became a suitor. Surely, you’ve had girlfriends before. Girls always fall for confidence. How could you have a moment when you were single to become a suitor?”  
Damien looked forward and then met my gaze. He breathed in deeply and I could tell he was thinking out the right words to say. He smiled and his eyes went forward again while he spoke.  
“Yes, I’ve had girlfriends. They were very wonderful and you’re right, they did fall for the confidence thing so I had many women basically waiting in line to date me. The issue, though, is that my parents were very particular about the women I dated. It was an arranged relationship. I had just recently become single again when my parents heard the news of you becoming the princess. They immediately shipped me off when The Royal Court asked for suitors. You could say that they really want me to marry well.”  
“Oh, wow. And you were okay with arranged relationships and being forced into being a suitor?”  
Damien shrugged his shoulders and then held me close to him by my waist. He smiled down at me sweetly.  
“I didn’t mind them and I definitely don’t mind being your suitor. Even if you don’t choose me, I’m happy to have had the opportunity to know you.”  
I smiled back and pushed my hair behind my ear out of habit, a soft blush brushed upon my cheeks. “I’m happy to know you as well, Damien.” I paused and looked around. “Where are you taking me by the way?”  
“To a restaurant nearby. I just thought you’d like to walk there since you’ve been cooped up for a while.”  
“You thought right.” I replied happily, taking in the city noises and bright lights. Never in my life had I appreciated this city so much. “You know, I think this is the first time in years that I’ve actually been glad to be here.”  
“Do you not like it here?”  
Damien questioned, looking down at me. I shook my head slowly and sighed.  
“I don’t. I’ve lived here my whole life and this city killed my mother.” I looked down with a frown but then quickly smiled again. “We can talk about that depressing subject sometime else. I just want to enjoy the night out.”  
“Alright then. I have very fun plans for tonight so you’re definitely going to enjoy it.”  
Once we arrived at the restaurant, I gasped in disbelief while he held the door open for me.  
“We’re eating here? I thought the wait list was months long here! How’d you get us in?”  
He chuckled when I stepped inside and put his arm around my waist to keep me close in the crowd of people.   
“My family owns this restaurant. How could you not make the connection when my last name is the name of this place?”  
“In my defense, it’s called The Hunt. Not just Hunt.”  
“I’m surprised you even remembered what my last name was.”  
“That’s because I saw the sign on the restaurant.”  
Damien gasped in a sarcastically offended way while I giggled and a hostess brought us to a booth towards the back. I picked up a menu and, without missing a beat, he pushed my menu back down onto the table.  
“I already know what you want so don’t waste your time.”  
“Oh, really now? What if I want something else though?”  
Damien looked over at me with a smirk and faced his body towards me more. The next words that came out of his mouth described my favorite meal as if it was on steroids. Of course, it had to be exactly what I had been in the mood for. I didn’t let him win so easily though.  
“Wrong. I want a grilled cheese.”  
“I did not take you to a five-star restaurant for you to get a grilled cheese.”  
“Well, since you’re depriving me of the best sandwich out there, I guess I’ll just have to go with what you suggested.”  
Damien rolled his eyes and laughed.  
“You have to be the most stubborn person I have ever met.”  
“You say it as if it’s a bad thing.”  
“As long as you’re not stubborn in denying my affection, I’m fine with it.”  
I laughed and leaned my head on my hand while Damien told the waiter our order. We carried on a wonderful conversation about his family and I learned that he was the eldest of three children. His sister was the middle child who was two years younger than him and he also had a brother who was only ten years old. Learning about his family made me look forward to meeting them. They all sounded like sweet people and I knew where he got it from. Once we had finished our dinner, Damien stood up and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  
“Dining and dashing, hm?”  
“You seriously think I pay the bill at a restaurant my family owns?” He shook his head with a small laugh. “Just stay here for a moment.”  
I shrugged and stayed out when he walked away. I looked in the direction he walked and noticed him shake hands with our waiter. I sat back in the booth, straightened my hair a bit, and then stood up when Damien came back. He took my hand again and I looked up at him.  
“What’d you give him?”  
I asked, my question catching him off guard.  
“Hm? Ah, you saw that, huh?” I nodded and he sighed. “I gave him a tip. While I don’t have to pay for the meal, I should at least pay for the service.”  
“As a former waitress, I can guarantee he appreciated it.” I smiled and lightly squeezed his hand. “Where to next?”   
“It’s a surprise.”  
“Can I get a hint?”  
“Nope.”  
“Oh, come on!”  
“I’m not giving you a hint!” He laughed. “I’m terrible at giving hints and you’ll guess it.”  
When we got close to the place Damien was taking me, he loosely covered my eyes with his hands. He carefully led me into the building and upbeat music filled my ears. He moved his hands and smiled. I looked back at him and then around the large room.  
“Where are we?”  
“It’s a dance hall. It’s mostly old people but I thought it’d be fun.”  
He mentioned with a laugh. He then grabbed my hand and tried pulling me towards the dance floor but I didn’t move. I looked forwards nervously and shook my head a bit.  
“Damien, I’m a terrible dancer.”  
The blonde smiled softly, seeing how worried I was, and rested his hands on my waist. “Kyra, you’re a fine dancer. And your experience doesn’t matter here. It’s just for fun.” He curled his finger under my chin and tilted my head up. “You’ll be wonderful. Just relax.”  
He then took both my hands and led me out onto the floor. It was very cute seeing all the couples dancing energetically and with huge smiles on their faces. There wasn’t any particular dance that people were doing so of course I became more worried since I had no one to mimic. Damien noticed and spun me in a circle before pulling me close to his body and starting to dance to the music with ease. I stumbled to follow his steps and kept looking down at the ground.  
“I don’t understand how you can just dance the way you do.”  
I told him before he tilted my head up once again.  
“It comes natural to me. And stop looking down at your feet.”  
I puffed out my cheeks and smiled a little while I did my best to not look down. Eventually, I was able to move with the music better and enjoy it more. My dance partner had this adorable, bright smile the entire time and he made me feel the most comfortable I had ever felt while dancing in front of people. We danced for a while until we got too tired and had to take a break. There were cute desserts and drinks set out on a table for people to take and Damien brought over drinks to the seats that were set out on the sides of the room.  
“Okay, I have to admit, this is a lot of fun.”  
He smiled and sipped from his drink while he handed me mine own.  
“I knew you’d love it. You’re doing amazing by the way.”  
I laughed and shook my head.  
“You don’t have to lie about my dancing to get me to like you more.”  
Damien took a breath to retaliate but he was stopped by the voice of another man. This new man held his hand out to me, asking for a dance.  
“Oh, um,” I glanced to Damien and then to the man, “okay!”  
I stood up and the blonde did as well, gently grabbing my arm.  
“Kyra,” He spoke in a lowered voice, “it may not be safe for you to be alone with someone you don’t know.”  
I smiled and pat his hand while responding in a reassuring whisper.  
“You yourself said no one knows my face yet. I’ll be fine, I promise. It’s just one dance.”  
Damien obviously didn’t want to let me go but he smiled just barely and allowed the man to take me out onto the dance floor. He was quite the good dancer, though not as great as my suitor, and he even told me some tips to help me dance better. We danced together for one song and while I had tried to make my way backs towards Damien, I was pulled into another dance by a different man. Of course, to Damien’s displeasure, this happened twice more after the fact. While I was dancing with the last one of the unfamiliar men, the upbeat music changed to a slow paced one. The man went to put his hands on my waist but I felt myself quickly and smoothly plucked away from him.  
“Sorry, as her boyfriend, I’m going to have to take this dance.” Damien smiled at the man kindly and then turned his back to him. He rested his hands on my waist and brought me close to him. “I apologize, Kyra, but I simply couldn’t let some stranger steal a slow dance from me.”  
I laughed and relaxed in his hold, putting the side of my face against his chest.  
“So, you’re my boyfriend now?”  
“Sorry. It was the only excuse I had for pushing that guy’s hands away from you.”  
“It’s okay. I wouldn’t want to slow dance with anyone else here anyways.”  
Damien chuckled softly and kissed the top of my head.  
“Good.”  
Although the whole night had been fun, I believed that the slow dance was my favorite part. I didn’t have to worry about dancing well since all it had been was a small swaying motion and having Damien as my dance partner allowed me to feel comfortable. Once the music died down, it signified the end of the night and he held tight to me while we left; almost as if he was afraid I’d be taken away by the crowd. We walked back to where the car had dropped us off and I had, surprisingly, not felt any resentment towards going back to the palace.   
“Thank you for tonight, Damien. I had a really nice time.”  
I told him with a smile, leaning my head on his shoulder since I was exhausted.  
“Any time, Kyra. I had a great time with you as well.”  
He responded in a soft tone since he noticed my tiredness. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was him putting his arms around me and bringing me against his chest as he leaned his back on the car door. What a wonderful night.

Data Entry Ten  
End


End file.
